Can You See Gobi Desert From a Plane? Best Seat Side Guide

151 flight routes pass within 400 km of Gobi Desert. Find out which side of the plane has the best views.

Asia's largest desert stretches across southern Mongolia and northern China. Its vast steppe and sand dunes are visible on routes between East Asia and Europe.

Routes that pass it151

PEK TAS Beijing to Tashkent · 1 km Both TAS PEK Tashkent to Beijing · 1 km Both FRA TPE Frankfurt to Taipei · 15 km Both TPE FRA Taipei to Frankfurt · 15 km Both ICN TAS Seoul to Tashkent · 18 km Both TAS ICN Tashkent to Seoul · 18 km Both LHR WUH London to Wuhan · 23 km Both WUH LHR Wuhan to London · 23 km Both BKK TPA Bangkok to Tampa · 25 km Both TPA BKK Tampa to Bangkok · 25 km Both PEK ALA Beijing to Alma-ata · 36 km Both PEK URC Beijing to Urumqi · 39 km Both URC PEK Urumqi to Beijing · 39 km Both CDG TPE Paris to Taipei · 46 km Both TPE CDG Taipei to Paris · 46 km Both NEL SIN Lakehurst to Singapore · 60 km Left SIN NEL Singapore to Lakehurst · 60 km Right ALA ICN Alma-ata to Seoul · 68 km Right ICN ALA Seoul to Alma-ata · 68 km Left EWR SIN Newark to Singapore · 72 km Left SIN EWR Singapore to Newark · 72 km Right PEK CAI Beijing to Cairo · 73 km Left SIN YUL Singapore to Montreal · 79 km Right YUL SIN Montreal to Singapore · 79 km Left EWR XSP Newark to Singapore · 91 km Left XSP EWR Singapore to Newark · 91 km Right DUB SYD Dublin to Sydney · 95 km Right SYD DUB Sydney to Dublin · 95 km Left HAM TPE Hamburg to Taipei · 97 km Right TPE HAM Taipei to Hamburg · 97 km Left JFK SIN New York to Singapore · 104 km Left SIN JFK Singapore to New York · 104 km Right MUC TSA Munich to Taipei · 105 km Left TSA MUC Taipei to Munich · 105 km Right ATL BKK Atlanta to Bangkok · 106 km Right BKK ATL Bangkok to Atlanta · 106 km Left CLT BKK Charlotte to Bangkok · 107 km Left BIK TLL Biak to Tallinn-ulemiste International · 122 km Left TLL BIK Tallinn-ulemiste International to Biak · 122 km Right JFK XSP New York to Singapore · 124 km Left XSP JFK Singapore to New York · 124 km Right AMS TPE Amsterdam to Taipei · 125 km Right TPE AMS Taipei to Amsterdam · 125 km Left MUC TPE Munich to Taipei · 126 km Left TPE MUC Taipei to Munich · 126 km Right AMS XMN Amsterdam to Xiamen · 135 km Left XMN AMS Xiamen to Amsterdam · 135 km Right BUD PVG Budapest to Shanghai · 161 km Right PVG BUD Shanghai to Budapest · 161 km Left LGW CGO London to Zhengzhou · 165 km Right SHA VCE Shanghai to Venice · 169 km Left VCE SHA Venice to Shanghai · 169 km Right IST PVG Istanbul to Shanghai · 171 km Left PVG IST Shanghai to Istanbul · 171 km Right LCY TPE London to Taipei · 174 km Right TPE LCY Taipei to London · 174 km Left PGF TPE Perpignan to Taipei · 177 km Left TPE PGF Taipei to Perpignan · 177 km Right BKK CMX Bangkok to Hancock · 178 km Left SAW PVG Pendik, Istanbul to Shanghai · 180 km Left LHR TPE London to Taipei · 182 km Right TPE LHR Taipei to London · 182 km Left TSA VIE Taipei to Vienna · 183 km Right VIE TSA Vienna to Taipei · 183 km Left BKK YYZ Bangkok to Toronto · 185 km Right YYZ BKK Toronto to Bangkok · 185 km Left PVG VCE Shanghai to Venice · 195 km Left VCE PVG Venice to Shanghai · 195 km Right LCY TSA London to Taipei · 198 km Right TSA LCY Taipei to London · 198 km Left TPE VIE Taipei to Vienna · 203 km Right VIE TPE Vienna to Taipei · 203 km Left HEW PVG Athens to Shanghai · 204 km Left ATH PVG Athens to Shanghai · 206 km Left LHR TSA London to Taipei · 206 km Right PVG ATH Shanghai to Athens · 206 km Right TSA LHR Taipei to London · 206 km Left BCN SHA Barcelona to Shanghai · 216 km Right BNE BRU Brisbane to Brussels · 216 km Right BRU BNE Brussels to Brisbane · 216 km Left HAN JFK Hanoi to New York · 216 km Left JFK HAN New York to Hanoi · 216 km Right PVG VIE Shanghai to Vienna · 216 km Left SHA BCN Shanghai to Barcelona · 216 km Left VIE PVG Vienna to Shanghai · 216 km Right PVG KZN Shanghai to Kazan · 232 km Left PKX SAW Beijing to Pendik, Istanbul · 236 km Left DOH NRT Doha to Tokyo · 237 km Left NRT DOH Tokyo to Doha · 237 km Right LIN PVG Milan to Shanghai · 239 km Right PVG LIN Shanghai to Milan · 239 km Left BCN PVG Barcelona to Shanghai · 244 km Right DOH PEK Doha to Beijing · 244 km Left PEK DOH Beijing to Doha · 244 km Right AKL VIE Auckland to Vienna · 250 km Right VIE AKL Vienna to Auckland · 250 km Left MXP PVG Milano to Shanghai · 253 km Right PVG MXP Shanghai to Milano · 253 km Left HEL SYD Helsinki to Sydney · 254 km Left SYD HEL Sydney to Helsinki · 254 km Right CMN TPE Casablanca to Taipei · 255 km Left TPE CMN Taipei to Casablanca · 255 km Right SVO XIY Moscow to Xi'an · 262 km Left XIY SVO Xi'an to Moscow · 262 km Right BNE LHR Brisbane to London · 263 km Left LHR BNE London to Brisbane · 263 km Right BWU EDI Sydney to Edinburgh · 266 km Left EDI BWU Edinburgh to Sydney · 266 km Right DOH HND Doha to Tokyo · 268 km Left HND DOH Tokyo to Doha · 268 km Right CDG NKG Paris to Nanjing · 269 km Right NKG CDG Nanjing to Paris · 269 km Left SHA SVO Shanghai to Moscow · 272 km Left SVO SHA Moscow to Shanghai · 272 km Right MUC PVG Munich to Shanghai · 288 km Right PVG MUC Shanghai to Munich · 288 km Left PVG SVO Shanghai to Moscow · 296 km Left SVO PVG Moscow to Shanghai · 296 km Right AUH PEK Abu Dhabi to Beijing · 297 km Left IAD BKK Washington to Bangkok · 297 km Left IST PEK Istanbul to Beijing · 297 km Right PEK AUH Beijing to Abu Dhabi · 297 km Right PEK IST Beijing to Istanbul · 297 km Left DOH PKX Doha to Beijing · 300 km Left PVG ZRH Shanghai to Zurich · 308 km Left ZRH PVG Zurich to Shanghai · 308 km Right BOS SIN Boston to Singapore · 309 km Left SIN BOS Singapore to Boston · 309 km Right PVG GVA Shanghai to Geneva · 310 km Left PVG TBS Shanghai to Tbilisi · 320 km Right TBS PVG Tbilisi to Shanghai · 320 km Left JFK SGN New York to Ho Chi Minh City · 325 km Right DXB NRT Dubai to Tokyo · 342 km Left NRT DXB Tokyo to Dubai · 342 km Right SIN YYZ Singapore to Toronto · 351 km Left YYZ SIN Toronto to Singapore · 351 km Right FRA SHA Frankfurt to Shanghai · 353 km Right SHA FRA Shanghai to Frankfurt · 353 km Left AUH NRT Abu Dhabi to Tokyo · 363 km Left NRT AUH Tokyo to Abu Dhabi · 363 km Right DOH ICN Doha to Seoul · 368 km Left ICN DOH Seoul to Doha · 368 km Right ALA PVG Alma-ata to Shanghai · 370 km Left DXB HND Dubai to Tokyo · 370 km Left HND DXB Tokyo to Dubai · 370 km Right PVG ALA Shanghai to Alma-ata · 370 km Right MRO ZRH Masterton to Zurich · 372 km Right ZRH MRO Zurich to Masterton · 372 km Left FRA PVG Frankfurt to Shanghai · 381 km Right PVG FRA Shanghai to Frankfurt · 381 km Left AUH HND Abu Dhabi to Tokyo · 391 km Left

Tip: Visibility depends on cloud cover, time of day, and how close the flight path comes. Sit on the listed side for the best chance of a view. Morning and evening flights often offer the best lighting.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you see Gobi Desert from a plane?

Yes — 151 flight routes pass within 400 km of Gobi Desert. The closest routes include Beijing to Tashkent, Tashkent to Beijing, Frankfurt to Taipei. Sit on the Both side, with the landmark passing about 1 km away.

Which side of the plane is best for viewing Gobi Desert?

The best side varies by route. For the most common routes near Gobi Desert: on a Beijing to Tashkent flight, sit on the Both side; on a Tashkent to Beijing flight, sit on the Both side; on a Frankfurt to Taipei flight, sit on the Both side.