Most of us have heard about the deserts and sand dunes in Africa or Asia and some of us have traveled there and visited some of them but, I believe that there is small number of us who knows that a pieces of this incredible natural phenomena can be even found on the soul of the Europe.


 Who would’ve thought, even for just one second, that such a large geological formation, that looks like it belongs to the desert, can lie down in the beautiful Aquitania province in France, from Bordeaux? Well, The Great Dune of Pyla is a rare geological phenomenon and a very popular tourist attraction, being the tallest sand dune in Europe.

If you’re visiting the beautiful city of Bordeaux, you’re just a one-hour drive away from seeing a fairytale place, the Great Dune of Pyla (or Pilat)



Just about sixty kilometers away from Bordeaux in France, there you can find awesome piece of nature which seems to be forgotten that it belongs to Europe, it rather believes that it is somewhere in hot Africa.


The Great Dune of Pyla, located 60 km from Bordeaux in the Arcachon Bay area, France, happens to be the tallest sand dune in Europe.



 Also known as Great Dune of Pilat, the sand dune is enormous - measuring 500 meter in width, 3 km in length and rising to a height of 107 meter above sea level. Because of the dune’s unexpected location and beauty, it is a famous tourist destination with more than one million visitors per year.

Interestingly, the dune is relentlessly moving inwards, slowly pushing the forest back to cover houses, roads and even portions of the Atlantic Wall.


The rate of movement is discontinuous; sometimes it moves fast (10 meter in a year) and sometimes very slow (less than a meter)