THE WESTERN DESERT:

The “Other” EgyptDesert safaris in Egypt’s great Western Desert are fabulous adventures. They are thrilling, exhilarating, and action-packed during the day as you traverse huge sand dunes, amongst steep chalk cliffs, and see amazing geological formations and fossils, some of which are up to 500 million years old. The nights are both tranquil and mystical in your authentic Bedouin camp surrounded by tall unusual natural chalk monoliths -- being far, far away from civilization -- and dancing to the passionate beat of live drummers, guitarists or flute players. After the party is over, you will be wrapped in total silence, while you gather around the campfire and sleep under a blanket of stars so thick that you feel as if you could reach out and touch them. Western Desert safaris are experiences not to be missed.

Egypt’s Western Desert is the most arid desert on Earth, and as such, is the perfect place for the preservation of mammals and geological features. Also known as the Libyan Desert, the Western desert is 1600 km from the Sudan to the Mediterranean, and 1760 km from the Nile to the west. Underneath this great expanse of sand is an extremely large aquifer system so that, when land elevation drops (as it did in all the oases), incredibly fertile oases soon develop. Oases in the Western Desert are: Fayoum, Bahariya, Siwa, Farafra, Dakhla, and Kharga, as well as the famous White Desert

 

. SAFARI ATTRACTIONS

 

Bahariya oasis

 

Local tour: This drive takes you meandering thru the thick, lush palm groves of the Bahariya oasis where farmers still transport their goods via cart and donkey, and where the oldest part of Bahariya still exists – the ancient village. Then you go thru sand dunes to Gebel Dist (aka ‘Pyramid Mountain’) where the largest dinosaur in Africa was found (Paralititan Stromeri – like a T-Rex). Afterwards we take you to the highest peak in the oasis: “English Mountain” where the British, during WWI, built a lookout to monitor the movements of the local Bedouin Sanusi tribe, who kept stealing their livestock and playing pranks. Finally, we take you to the ethnic museum, which is built in the Old oasis style, where there are replicas of ancient oil presses, as well as weapons, Bahariyan clothing, baskets, and so forth.

 

Antiquities tour: You will first go to the local antiquities museum where you will see 10 mummies from the famous Valley of the Golden Mummies, where over 17,000 mummies of all ages and genders, were discovered. Then, we will enter the tombs of two of Bahariya’s important ancient Egyptian governors and landowners: Zed-Amun-ef-Ankh and Bannentiu. Afterwards you will go to the 26th dynasty Ain Muftella chapels where there are interesting fresco mixes of land and earth ancient Egyptian deities, including Bes, the strangely shaped being who protected children and mothers during childbirth. Finally, you will see the only temple that Alexander the Great ever built in Egypt.

 

White Desert Safari

This is the most popular of all of our desert safaris as it is rich with beautiful vistas, and dramatic camping. The White Desert is within the Western Desert, as are all of the oases of Egypt.

 

Black Desert: This area contains many ancient volcanoes (some up to 45 million years old) that look like Devil’s Peak in the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

 

El-Haiz: A tiny village with an ethnic Bedouin restaurant supported with palm trees for columns and with a canal of fresh spring water running thru the center. Outside there is a small cool fresh-water pool where you can relax and enjoy the surrounding desert vistas.

 

Crystal Mountain: This area is a giant geode that was pushed up from the earth’s center millions and millions of years ago. Although most is picked over, we take you to areas where there are still amazing crystal deposits and stalactites.

 

AgabtA: A mountain pass filled with steep sand dunes, snuggled amidst vertical chalk cliffs. Here you will find a stunning vista of the White Desert as well as experience wild 4x4 driving as you must go fast to avoid getting stuck. 

Flower Desert: There are several areas in the White and Western deserts referred to as “Flower Deserts.” They contain sea fossils of shells, coral, sea urchins and starfish that date from 40 to 500 million years old.

 

Old and New White Deserts: The signature of the White Deserts is the abundance of white chalk that was created in the Cretaceous period (145 – 65 million years ago). From wind and sea (the Tethys Sea covered the White Desert 3 times in the world’s history) tall, unusually-shaped brillian chalk inselbergs were created that resemble many things: sphinxes, turkeys, chickens, begging dogs, Horus falcon, fists, mushrooms and so forth.

 

Fayoum Oasis Wadi

 

Riyan and Wadi Hittan: These two areas are side-by-side; one with a lake with boats for hire and a waterfall, and the other an outdoor dinosaur museum with skeleton exhibits of these strange dinosaur whales that developed on land but moved to the sea. The Wadi Hittan appears to be a favorite place for the whale mothers to give birth; it certainly is a starkly beautiful spot today with its craggy cliffs with ancient Mangrove tree deposits in the geological strata.

 

Ashmuneum Museum: Most of the exhibits in this museum come from Karanis (next door) an ancient Egyptian/Greek town that thrived in the Late Period and Ptolemaic era. The most important exhibits inside are the famous ‘Fayoum Portraits;” Egyptian-Roman period mummies with the deceased’s faces meticulously painted on the outside.

 

Dakhla Oasis

 

Qasr: This is a very large ancient Bedouin mudbrick city that was begun approx. 1000 AD. It has narrow curving streets, multi-tiered houses, ancient school and government offices. Only a couple of Oasean families still live here; otherwise it has been preserved as a national monument and is a must-see in the Dakhla oasis.

 

Beshendi: is a collection of semi-modern Oasean homes amidst a collection of ancient Egyptian tombs and the tomb of Sheikh/Pasha Hindi, in which sound is amplified in very unusual places.

 

Balat: An Old Kingdom ancient Egyptian town of which several interesting tombs remain. This area is under excavation but tourists are still allowed to look.

Between Dakhla and Kharga Oases

 

Umm Dubadib: A complete ancient Egyptian/Roman fortress town with houses, aqueducts, rock-cut necropolis, and a gutted church. This site is located in the deep desert and sand is piled up against many walls. It is a very exotic and beautiful area to visit and camp at as you will most likely have it all to yourselves. Both Umm Dubadib and Lebekha can be visited as an option to the “Oases Circle” tour #8.

 

Lebekha: This is another Roman fortress on the east side of the mountain range that separates Umm Dubadib from Lebekha. There are two fortresses here and many, many tombs of which four are open. This area is gorgeous and isolated but the caretaker Sayid, has a wonderful garden and a fresh-water swimming pool that he will fill up for you if you wish to swim. He can also walk over the mountains to Umm Dubadib and guide you back over the mountain to Lebekha either on foot or by camel.

 

Kharga Oasis

Kharga is the closest oasis to Luxor being ca. 450 km to the west. It was the primary oasis that early Christians were banished to from Roman provinces. It has prospered since the prehistoric era.

 

Hibis: This temple was built by the Egyptians under Persian rule of Darius. It has recently been reopened after 10 years of conservation work. It is a beautiful temple – the best preserved in all the oases – and well worth the visit.

 

Bagawat: This is a 3rd and 4th c AD Christian cemetery with over 240 tombs. Many of the tombs have pictoral scenes of: Noah’s ark, Rebekah and the well, Moses and the Israelites on the Exodus, Adam and Eve, Johah and the whale, and so forth. This is another land mark that is very much worth the visit.

 

Qasr Ghuieta: This is a 7th c BC fortress built by the ancient Egyptians while the Persians were present in Egypt. It is a large fortress, cardinally oriented, with a beautiful temple inside. The vistas from this antiquities site are breathtaking

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For more informationContact us:

ahmed elsaeid

01274850201