World's Best Spots for Serious Peace & Quiet

In Search of Silence: Namib Desert

According to the Guinness Book of Records, the quietest place on Earth is a non-echoing chamber found at Orfield Laboratories Inc. in Minnesota. Sure, it’s perfect if you want absolute silence, but not so great on room service and amenities, so here are other options for weary travelers seeking a place to unplug, unwind, recharge and just relax.

Text by Heidi Schuessler, Bing Travel; photo editing by Connie Ricca.

The Namib Desert, which covers an area the size of Switzerland in Namibia, is the oldest desert in the world. The dramatic wind-carved red sand dunes remain largely unpopulated save by geckos, kudu, rare mountain zebras and other desert-dwelling critters. Drive with a tour about an hour from the entrance ofNamib-Naukluft National Park and you reach Sossuvlei and the tallest sand dunes in the world — some topping 1,000 feet. Enjoy the rarified feeling of solitude and silence while walking among the dunes, or among the many hiking trails in the park.

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In Search of Silence: Desolation Peak, Washington

North Cascades National Park inWashington is one of the least-visited parks in the country, which is just fine for the people who make the three-hour trek northeast from Seattle to experience its glaciered peaks, wildflowers, azure lakes and 400 miles of hiking trails. Early intrepid travelers here included writer Jack Kerouac, who spent more than two months in the one-room fire lookout on Desolation Peak, 15 miles from the nearest road on the Canadian border, in the summer of 1956. Retrace his steps and you’ll be rewarded with silence interrupted only by the wind and the flapping of bird wings past your window.

In Search of Silence: Quiet Weeks at Springwater Center, N.Y.

This meditative center in the beautiful Finger Lakes region of New York offers five Quiet Weeks during the year, times when guests can choose to move in silence and stay in designated quiet accommodations. All retreats incorporate some element of silence, including the weeklong Zen-inspired meditation retreats that are “free from dogma or ritual,” so participants can build on an existing practice or try something new. Located an hour’s drive south of Rochester, Springwater sits amid 200 acres of rolling wooded hills, forests and meadows. 

In Search of Silence: Lighthouse Keeper, Dry Tortugas, Florida

When it comes to getting away from it all,Dry Tortugas National Park in Florida fits the bill. Only 60,000 people visit this park each year, making it one of the least visited. One of the most remote spots in the park is the Loggerhead Key Lighthouse, 70 miles from Key West in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico. Volunteers can spend four weeks as a lighthouse keeper here, where there are no phones, no Internet access and no scheduled transportation. You’ll be expected to log 32 hours a week of service, including picking up trash on the beach and watching for Cuban refugees landing on the islands. In exchange, you get a month of absolute solitude.

See more attractions in Key West.

In Search of Silence: Hoh Rain Forest, Washington

“Sound tracker” Gordon Hempton is a man on a quest to find the quietest place on Earth — and he found it, at least the quietest spot in the U.S. You can find it, too, by hiking 3.2 miles along the Hoh River Trail in Washington’s Olympic National Park. Amid moss-draped trees and ferns is a red stone that marks one square inch of silence, as recorded by Hempton. Away from main flight paths and miles from any city, the Hoh Rain Forest is a virtual cathedral to silence — especially in summer, when there’s very little rainwater dripping from the trees.

In Search of Silence: Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Calif.

Two hours from San Diego and with more than 500 miles of dirt roads to explore, Anza Borrego State Park is the largest state park in California and an ideal place to find some peace and quiet. It’s probably most crowded in the spring, when wildflowers and cacti are in full bloom. Any time of year you can walk on the miles of trails through desert washes and past palm oases, and keep company with the roadrunners, kit foxes, jackrabbits, mule deer and bighorn sheep that populate the park. (“Borrego” means bighorn sheep.)

In Search of Silence: Supai, Ariz.

Tucked about 3,000 feet below the rim of theGrand Canyon, the village of Supai is the most remote community in the United States. Supplies and mail are delivered daily by mule train to the couple hundred people who live on this Havasupai reservation, and not a car or traffic light is in sight. If you’re in search of pure paradise, hike two miles past the village to the stunning oasis of Havasu Falls, a glittering blue-green cascade that makes the effort in getting there more than worth it.

In Search of Silence: Overnight in Haleakala Crater, Maui

When the crowds and cars wind their way back down the slopes of Haleakala, you could be one the of the lucky ones to spend the night in one of three wilderness cabins within the volcanic crater. The nearest one is a 3.7-mile hike and the farthest is about 9 miles, and each cabin comes with a wood-burning stove and some basics, including a padded bunk — but nights get chilly up at 2,200 feet, so bundle up. Amid the lava flows and cinder cones you may encounter the nene goose or see the native Ua’u petrel fly overhead. On a clear night, the view of the stars is unparalleled.

In Search of Silence: Buckfast Abbey, England

Monasteries are popular alternatives to expensive hotels in Europe, and they offer the bonus of being quiet and contemplative by their very nature. Since the 11^th century,Buckfast Abbey in the English countryside has provided spiritual respite for a Catholic community of Benedictine monks. Today, the abbey welcomes visitors who want to join the monks for a week of prayer, reflection, reading and walking in the gardens. Simple accommodations are available in the main building for men, and in a historic building adjacent for women and couples. Even if you visit only for a day, you can immerse yourself in the peacefulness of the abbey and its gardens, and enjoy some of the Buckfast honey created by the monks' famous bees.

In Search of Silence: Gates of the Arctic National Park, Alaska

It’s a vacation that perhaps only adventurerBear Grylls could love: To get to this remote Alaskan national park, you have to fly in via bush plane or hoof it from nearby villages, but oh the rewards! Lots of elbow room, for one: Only 9,000 visitors explored here in 2009. You’ll be surrounded by spires of theBrooks Range, wildflower- and bear-filled valleys, ice-fed streams — and silence. Don’t arrive unprepared however, as there are no services to speak of. But if you are in need of unplugging, this is the park for you.

In Search of Silence: Galiano Island, B.C.

As islands go, they don’t get farther off the beaten path than Galiano Island. One ofBritish Columbia’s Gulf Islands, Galiano is renowned for its peaceful rural setting. Drive off the ferry and leave deadlines and schedules behind: Activities here are of the walking, bird-watching and beachcombing variety. You won’t find huge resorts here, but places to stay abound, all with names conducive to R&R: Serendipity, Eagle’s Nest, Paradise Rock and Serenity by the Sea, to name a few. The latter offers morning yoga, a cliff-side tub for two and massage; phones, televisions and computers are strictly verboten.

In Search of Silence: The Cloisters, New York City

Amid the noise and bustle of Manhattan is the calming oasis of the Cloisters, an offshoot of the Metropolitan Museum of Artthat houses more than 3,000 works of medieval art and tapestries. Located in Fort Tryon Park overlooking the Hudson River in upper Manhattan, the Cloisters building itself is a work of art, composed of parts of five French abbeys that were shipped during the 1930s and reassembled in New York. The gardens and covered stone arcades are both perfect spots for silence and reflection. (Note: The Cloisters is closed on Mondays.)

Share your favorite quiet corner of the world by leaving a comment on the Travel Blog.