White Sands, New Mexico feels like stepping into a fantasy world straight out of Star Wars. You half expect to see Luke Skywalker skimming across the dunes in a speeder, heat trails rippling in the distance.

The first thing that hits you is the brightness, that impossible white glow the park is famous for. White Sands is the world’s largest gypsum dune field, born from an ancient sea that covered this region about 280 million years ago. When that sea evaporated, it left behind thick layers of gypsum.

Over time, tectonic forces stretched the crust and formed the Tularosa Basin. Rainfall then broke down the gypsum, washing it into the basin where shallow lakes formed. When those lakes dried up, the gypsum crystallized again, only to be wind-eroded into the fine, pale grains we walk on today. This landscape took hundreds of millions of years to shape, and you feel that story under your feet. It’s one of the most unique national parks on the planet, drawing curious travelers from all over the world.

Walking alone through those dunes was unforgettable. The silence, the glow, the sense of being suspended between reality and imagination. I traced my footsteps back to the car with a compass, something I always recommend. Bring water, sunglasses, an emergency blanket, a snack or two. It’s a beautiful place but not a place to wander without intention.

If you’re visiting in the summer, aim for sunrise. The sand is still cool, and the low angle of light gives you about an hour of incredible shadows. In winter, chase sunset. The sand absorbs warmth all day, and the evening light cuts across the dunes with dramatic intensity. Midday, between about 10 and 4, the dunes go flat. Still gorgeous, but tough for photography. That’s why I love shooting White Sands in black and white, the contrast between the deep shadows and pure white gypsum is unbeatable.

It’s a true bucket-list location to see and to photograph. A place that reminds you just how wild, ancient, and magical our planet can be.