‘Bathing in the thermal waters in which Cleopatra once swam felt truly magical’

From the gleaming rock terraces of Turkey to the northern lights, the world’s great natural phenomena inspired fine writing

As my husband and I were flying back from Chicago to London, I awoke in the darkened aircraft and pushed up the window blind. I stared, and shook my husband awake. “Look, look!”

Some 30,000ft up in the Arctic night, we were flying through nature’s light show: the solar wind made visible by Earth’s magnetic field – the aurora borealis. Everywhere – above, below, in front, behind – great sheets and curtains, swags and banners of green light undulated and swayed, pulsated and danced, while the stars shone through them. It was vaster, more various and more beautiful than any human display. Abruptly it was over and the plane flew on in darkness. Mary Barrett, East Sussex

RIBBONS IN THE SKY

Flying from Madrid to Lima on the trip of a lifetime to Peru, we soared for mile after mile above the vast Amazon rainforest. Suddenly, the contrast of a single cloud against the forest green caught my eye. Hanging vertically below it were wonderful ribbons of colour, the phenomenon of a vertical rainbow – which I photographed.

In Cusco, as we acclimatised to the altitude and waited for our train to Machu Picchu, I decided to have the pictures printed. Alas, there was nothing on the camera memory card.

However, all was not lost for I still have the wonderful memory of those colourful ribbons in the sky. It was a truly magical experience.

Colin Brown, West Sussex

STARS, GEYSERS AND ICE

Chile is not short of spectacular natural phenomena. Well before dawn in the Atacama Desert, on the way to the El Tatio geyser, we stargazed. With no light pollution, the clarity and brightness of the moon were awesome and a multitude of stars vied for space in an otherwise inky-black sky.

Just as the sun rose, we reached the geysers. At 14,107ft and minus 11C, coffee warmed us with milk heated in the bubbling springs as we watched the lively jets of water and steam.

In Torres del Paine National Park, we took a boat trip on a lake. Sapphire and turquoise ice fragments calved by the Grey Glacier sparkled like jewels. It was yet another amazing spectacle. Margaret Reed, Wiltshire

DESERT AWAKENING

I have always loved the mystery of Egypt and its stories, but I never thought I would get there because I am frightened of flying. However, after we were married, my husband encouraged me to go. We had booked to see Abu Simbel – and I had even agreed to a helicopter flight to get there.

The day before our trip, the flight was cancelled – so the tour organiser arranged a coach trip. We started out at 3am and I fell asleep. Just before 6.30am, my husband woke me, telling me the sun was about to come up and he didn’t want me to miss it.

Everything outside the coach was black. Then the sun appeared, rising faster than seemed possible. The whole desert was lit up and the sands stretched out before us – a sight I’ll never forget. Anne Brooke, Surrey

THERE GOES THE SUN

We were in Normandy for the total solar eclipse, but after meticulous planning we woke to a cloudy sky. Seeing several groups on a hill setting up camera equipment, we decided to join them. It was tantalising to see the clouds clear intermittently to reveal the moon’s shadow creeping across the sun.

The minutes ticked by. Anticipation was rising. It got chillier and darker and finally the sun re-emerged as just a sliver of light. There were two minutes to go, but it was still light. Only 10 seconds now, then suddenly… whoosh! The clouds seemed to rush towards us and we were plunged into darkness. The lights of the village twinkled below; the famous “Diamond Ring” effect was clearly visible around the darkened sun and after about four minutes… whoosh! We were back in daylight, and everyone on the hillside burst into applause. Rosemary Wharton, Oxfordshire

EERINESS IN THE ARCTIC

One cold night on a ship in the Arctic Circle, I couldn’t sleep so went outside. There was thick snow on deck, under dark skies filled with stars – and then a glow, a slow dancing waterfall of green and white shot with ruby red and amethyst. Silently and in awe, others crept on deck, mesmerised.

Years later – on another, smaller vessel – we slipped through the summer night towards the Arctic. Alone on deck, I saw a dramatic storm on the horizon fizzing our way. We were miles from anywhere, on a ship with a metal mast! Would we die, traceless, on this trip?

The storm held off and we sailed on, through an equally eerie phenomenon: a pod of sleeping orcas. The further north we sailed, the less night there was. Reading one golden sunlit evening, I checked the time and it was 00.14 – the midnight sun! I was giddy with laughter.