Trips & Tours: Western Desert Adventure

On arrival we will transfer to our comfortable hotel and look forward to our desert adventure the next couple of weeks of exploring exotic Egypt, her temples, bazaars and the Nile.

We start with the Egyptian Museum where we seek out the fabulous treasure that Carter discovered when he opened the tomb of the boy-king Tutankhamun. After seeing the famous solid gold funerary mask we cross the Nile to Giza and the Pyramids.

We have time to truly appreciate these masterpieces of construction before heading southwest into the Western Desert. This is the first of 4 long desert journeys illustrating the vastness of the sands which stretch unbroken to the Atlantic. Tired but happy we head to our fixed camp.

Bahariya is the name given to a vast green oasis that makes its commercial centre the small town of Bawiti. We spend time exploring the basin, travelling to the Valley of the Golden Mummies to see the small museum and where the superb Roman-era mummies with incredibly lifelike faces reminiscent of what is called Fayoum portraiture were found.

It’s clear from our visit that the oasis has been a centre of civilisation for millennia, people drawn to the fertile land watered by underground springs. We’ll make our way to such a spring for a bathe in waters that emanate from deep underground, then on to Pyramid Mountain and the Black Desert before pitching camp.

The next oasis south is Farafra where again water enables life to survive and even prosper in one of the worlds harshest environments. The people here were once Bedouin but have since become settled, though they still proudly claim the title.

The White Desert lies to the northeast of this settlement and is made up of strangely eroded chalk massifs that jut our of the desert floor in amazing shapes. A night under the stars here is one you are never to forget.

Our journey next takes us south to Dakhla. Here the history of the region and its people can truly be appreciated. Inhabited for millennia the crumbling mud brick town of al Qasr is only the latest of many settlements that litter the region. We wander its quiet streets seeing the carved door lintels and taking in a town that dates from Ottoman times.

We meet with our camel drivers and set out on a journey of around an hour and a half to our campsite. This is the very best way to appreciate the desert, under the stars with no light pollution to spoil the carpet of stars above us.

We have a long drive ahead of us today as we turn east towards the green ribbon of the Nile. As we get close to the Nile the scenery and settlements dramatically change, the bare ochre of the desert replaced by what seems to us an almost unbelievable iridescent green, such is the power of the river to turn bare earth to productive farmland.

As the sun climbs into the sky we cross the Nile this morning to join our donkeys for the ride to the Valley of the Kings. The donkeys follow the path taken by the original workers who built the tombs those many thousand years ago. On arrival we can choose to enter 3 of the tombs currently open and descend into the earth, past stunning scenes painted on the walls of the shafts, deep into the tombs of the pharaohs themselves. The detail and quality of the artwork is amazing, made more so by its antiquity. This is truly a highlight of any visit to Luxor.

Our return journey takes us down to the wonderful temple of Hatshepsut, Egypt’s only female pharaoh. Here we see the famous frieze which shows the trading expedition to the Land of Punt.

Later we take horse-drawn carriages called caleshes as we ride the 3km to Karnak Temple. Once an avenue of sphinxes linked the two great temples of Karnak and Luxor and a project is ongoing to re-link them. We enter through this famous avenue to explore the vast interior of the temple. Highlights include the grand Hypostyle Hall, where dozens of massive pillars once held aloft the roof, Hatshepsut’s obelisk and the Sacred Pool.

This morning why not treat yourself to an optional balloon flight over the countryside and villages of the west bank for a different perspective on the Nile Valley.

Later we set of for the long drive to the Red Sea coast at Al Quseir, a small, laid back town south of Safaga and Hurghada. On arrival we see just why this part of the world is so attractive to visitors, with a shimmering sea and coral gardens below the waves.

The Red Sea coast is world famous for its stunning underwater marine life with brilliantly coloured fishes and corals to delight the snorkeller and diver (both activities are available here but if you want to dive you must do so leaving one clear day before flying). A variety of different trips are available from simple days out snorkelling to boat trips to the reefs further north. Your guide will be able to make arrangements for you. For those that want to explore the little visited south a safari to the Wadi Hammamat can be arranged where pharaonic-era graffiti can be seen.

Today is a travelling day as we make the long journey back to Cairo. The journey takes around 10 hours by road. Subject to availability the journey can be made by air at a supplement.

Our last full day is spent at leisure. You may like to shop in the souqs of Islamic Cairo for oriental souvenirs, visit the dramatically located Citadel or make a trip out to Saqqara and the less visited pyramids further south at Dahshur. Cairo is overflowing with attractions with several museums, such as the Beit al Suhaymi, to discover along with the Cities of the Dead, countless mosques, the Street of the Tentmakers and Fishawi’s coffee-shop – the perfect end to a journey with many highlights.