The Desert is located in between the other countries and Sunagakure's Gates. It is a wide scaled desert, acting also as a labyrinth for the other villages that Sunagakure is not allied or in good contacts with. Of course a person of a low rank wouldn't know the way to the Sunagakure Main Gates without Support of a Jounin or without experience from before. Apparently there are storms every four days, these sandstorms last from hours to days. The sandstorms are thick and dense as well, and they are so violent, that even someone from the Sand Village should stop and wait for the storms to end.
