Home
Bahariya feels like the first real desert oasis in Egypt.
You reach it after a four or five hour’s drive from Cairo along a well made road that sees a bit of tanker traffic but little else. There is only one stop en route-a barn-like tea house-after 150km (and a smaller one about 10km further on) and that is it. It was on the right hand side of the road, in the direction of Wadi Natrun, that French Flyer Antoine de Saint Exupery crashed in 1935. Surviving on a half pint of coffee and an orange Exupery survived- and later wrote about the experiences in the marvelous desert book ‘‘Wind, Sand and Stars’’.
Being relatively near to Cairo Bahariya has attracted a number of foreigners over the years in search of peace and desert freedom. They have started, or been involved with, the several eco-spiritual companies springing up with safaris tailored to match the growing breed of travellers out to do more than stand and stare.
At Bahariya itself the main town you drive through is Bawati. There are other smaller villages clustered within the depression of the oasis, many of them mentioned in Roman times. Bahariya has been inhabited for many centuries and it was here that the so calledGolden Mummies were unearthed a few years ago.
Some of the mummy cases can be seen in the museum in Bawiti which you drive past on the way in. There are shops selling most things- here you can buy your Bedouin scarf’s and rugs.
Look out for the traditional shops such as the bakery which is a small blackened hole in the wall through which hands pass to receive their daily bread.
The hills behind the town include Gebel Dest- this was where important dinosaur remains were found by German paleontoligist Eric Strommer nearly a hundred years ago. He discovered a tyrannosaurus- like carnivore called Spinosaurus, which, if you have seen ‘‘Jurassic Park III’’ does battle with T-Rex towards the end of the film.
All around Bawiti there are ancient sites waiting to be visited. When one tires of sightseeing the oasis is well equipped with hot springs that gush from the earth and cleanse you of the sand of desert traveling.
Temple of Alexander
On the road going in the direction of Siwa is the temple dedicated to Alexander- the only one that still exists in Egypt- perhaps he came back through Bahariya after visiting the oracle at Siwa.
After the dusty atmospheric town of Bawiti one drives through theBlack Desert, called this because the air has oxidized the manganese in the rocks making them black.
El Fayoum, located one hour south of Cairo, is considered one of Egypt's most peaceful places and one of the most greenish oases in Egypt's desert
Bahariya is one of the more appealing of the desert circuit oasis, and it's also the easiest to access, being just 365 kilometers from Cairo.
Al Farafra is a small oasis located in the western desert of Egypt and the nearest oasis to the White Desert.
El Dakhla oasis is usually considered as the most beautiful of Egypt's Western Desert oases.
Kharga is the largest of the Oases, the administrative center of the New Valley Governorate. It is also the nearest to the Nile Valley and only two hours from Luxor.
Many desert travelers consider Siwa Oasis to be their favorite. It is a wonderfully lovely setting with a distinctive atmosphere and a peaceful ambiance.
Agabat, sometimes referred to as the "Beautiful Valley," is a stopover station for travellers travelling to Bahariya and the White and Black Deserts. It is situated in Egypt's Western Desert.
Learn how to have the ideal camping and safari experience in Egypt. understand how to pick your clothing, as well as the transportation, food, and beverages available in the Egyptian desert.
Al-Haize is located next to the Black Desert, so named because of the stones that adorn its surface like burnt breadcrumbs. This is early Miocene dark brown Oligocene iron pyrite and black basalt.
The Mountain is located between Al-Mandesha and Al-Bawati city, the seat of Bahareya and the location of the oasis's major villages.
The Black Desert is distinguished by a landscape of isolated plains and dunes of all sizes, heights, and shapes that spread like an archipelago of islands.
Farafra's Badr's Heritage Museum provides a wonderfully fascinating and instructive look at this time period.
Due to the sheer distinctive and different rock formations in its dazzling white surroundings, Egypt's White Desert is believed to be one of the most visited tourist locations for adventure tourism.
Crystal Mountain is located on the outskirts of the White Desert and is a must-see tourist destination for visitors. A little natural arch in the rock and the gleaming calcite crystal walls make it an ideal location for photographs.