Black Rock City is the shape of a horseshoe. At its centre is a sculpture of a tree made entirely from the skulls of horses and cattle; and standing on a plinth in the distance, looking like Nelson’s Column, is the burning man. He cuts a lonely outline. Between the tree and the man, however, are two enormous, crouching, wire-frame humans, as well as vehicles in the shape of fishes, and dinosaurs cruising across the playa, where men and women, thinned into Lowry figures, sway through the haze.

Perhaps because Black Rock City is in a desert, there is something snug and cosy about it - lots of fires in old oil drums and people curled up at all times of the day and night, asleep on sofas, there on the sand, under the stars. At dusk, the mountains in the distance turn orange and then purple, then the generators come on and the whole place lights up like a Christmas tree.

If you want to be in bed by 11pm, bring earplugs; most people don’t bother with them. After three days, Marion, who is camping next to us, says: “I’m pretty tired after the first night, but then I sort of go into space and sleep when I want to. I don’t do this day/night thing any more.” Mike, who is a vet in Wisconsin, says, “I don’t get it. People are always saying that they need to get away, so they go some place - you know, a hotel, a beach - but the only thing that is really different is that they don’t have to cut the grass that week.”

He’s right: one of the first challenges of this festival, for me, is to let go of my attachment to time and the illusion of control that it gives all of us.

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THE BURNING MAN was due to be set alight at about eight o’clock, but a sand-storm blew in. It subsided slowly and at some point a little later - I’m not sure when - he was surrounded by a cordon of 40,000 people and, having burnt for half an hour or so, he finally fell to the ground.

About half a mile beyond the burning man was a temple on two floors, made entirely from the remains of other buildings. As a structure, it borrowed its form from the ornate templates of Buddhism, the graceful simplicity of a mosque and the spires of Christianity. Being made of recycled building material, it was mainly constructed of wood, and on every surface, visitors to this extraordinary shrine had written or painted an obituary to someone who had died in the previous year.

This was a place of quiet reflection, the place to say good-bye, a memorial to our deepest feelings posted in the quietness of the desert. On the last official night, there must have been about 25,000 people sitting in silence and watching as this temple was burnt to the ground. There was a palpable sense of release, and in the days and weeks that followed, the ash would be swept away, the jazz cafes would be packed up, and the vets and the drivers would all return to the rhythm of the lives they were making for themselves.

As breaks go, I don’t think they come any better than the Burning Man. Yes, I needed to accept that comfort is a mental state of being, not a physical one, but that is surely a good lesson to learn. And, although there were sand-storms, there was no chance of rain. I was never wet and cold. There was space as well. If I needed to be alone, I could just wander off into the desert, but if I felt like conversation, there were 50,000 people to talk to.

And I felt I got to know Americans in a way that isn’t possible in resorts and hotels. The Americans take the idea of good service seriously. At the Burning Man festival, the reality is that we all serve each other; when that happens, so does something wonderful.

Peter Owen Jones’s series Around the World in 80 Faiths is on BBC2 on Fridays at 9pm. The Burning Man episode will be shown this week.

Travel details: there are no direct flights from the UK to Reno, the nearest airport, but there are good connections via Chicago (with American Airlines; (020 7365 0777, americanairlines.co.uk ) or San Francisco (with United; 0845 844 4777, unitedairlines.co.uk ). Returns start at about £430. It’s a three-hour drive from Reno to Black Rock City; a week’s inclusive car hire starts at £140 with Avis (0844 581 0147, avis.co.uk ) or Enterprise (0870 350 3000, enterprise.co.uk ).

This year’s event runs from August 31 until September 7; burningman.com. Tickets start at £177pp.

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