Few countries are as iconic to travelling as Egypt. When thinking about the cliche of the traveller, you might have the Taj Mahal of Indian, the Great Wall of China or the Parthenon of Greece in mind but the Pyramids of Egypt are never far in mind. It is thus very surprising that this country still keep wonderful secrets. One of those secrets are the deserts of Egypt located in its West, close tot the Bahariya Oasis. Those deserts offer one of a kind geological scenes and can be seen on a two day trip from Cairo. Those deserts can be seen as part of our Alternative Egypt Tour.
The Black Desert
The black desert is an incredible landscape which will remind you of Mordor. It looks like the land of around thirty kilometres is filled with volcanos. Worry not, none of these mounds are actual active volcanoes. In fact, these mounds are topped by basalt sills which taints them black.
Just pick a mound and climb it up to appreciate the view!
The White Desert
It is an astounding fact of life that next to the Black Desert of Egypt, there should be a White Desert of Egypt. Here, the scenery almost cools you down as you see it. It is because it looks like a snowy desert, which is kind of an oxymoron. However, the white stuff you see has nothing to do with snow but is in fact chalk rock. Called Farafra depression by the locals, the White Desert is home to Bedouin tribes, who live amongst the impressive natural chalk formations.
The Dome Desert
Also part of the White Desert of Egypt is a section called the Dome Desert. While the rest of the desert is made up of mushroom-looking or stalagmite-looking formations, here, the formations are round and look like a hundred of mongolian gers have been installed in the plain.
Camping
Due to the distance, you’ll have to spend a night this side of Egypt before you can go back to Cairo. It is really not that bad as camping in the White Desert is a truly great experience. At Young Pioneer Tours, we team up with bedouins who have been living in the desert and guiding people since the days when it was all done on donkey-back. You’ll be amazed at the kind of feast our friends there can whip up on a simple wood fire and how comfortable they’ll make you feel.
The most incredible thing, however, is that those deserts are not on most tourists itineraries in Egypt. That means that you’ll bump into one or two other cars during your exploration, no more! Get in there before the masses flock to these wonders!
Visit the wonders of the White Desert and Black Desert of Egypt on our Alternative Egypt Tour!
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