Egypt Desert Expedition

Experience filling in the shoes of the world’s famous explorers in 18 days by going on an Egyptian Desert Expedition is to be an explorer yourself. See how expeditions mapped out the vast Egyptian Desert and feel exciting side trips like surfing through the western desert until reach the Southern Gilf Kebir area. Move more towards the south to see amazing rock art at the Area of Uweinat Mountain go through White Desert, Dakhla Oasis, Siwa Oasis and finally reach Al Alamin and back to Cairo.

Day 1: Arrival

Upon arrival at Cairo International Airport a 123EgyptTours.com representative will welcome & assist you. After which you will be transferred to your hotel via an air-conditioned vehicle. Overnight accommodation is arranged for your convenience in Cairo.

Day 2: Pyramids & Museum

After breakfast is served at the hotel, sit back and enjoy your visit via a private air-conditioned vehicle to the Great pyramids of Cheops, Chephren, and Mykerinus. Then take a look at the one of the most famous structures in the world the Great Sphinx and the Valley Temple fronting it. After which you will be taken on a guided tour at the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities. This famous museum houses over 120,000 artifacts dating to the earliest traces of civilizations in Egypt. Another attraction here is the treasures of the child king Tutankhamen. Overnight accommodation is arranged in Cairo.

Day 3: Going to Bahariya Oasis & the White Desert

Get on an early start from hotel in Cairo to avoid traffic jam on to Bahariya Oasis around 365 KM far. Breakfast is served while on road. Arrive in Bahariya around 12:00 noon and by then we can visit the small museum where the recently discovered golden Mummies are displayed. Our journey continue further south to the Crystal Mountain where we stop for lunch. Here we continue further 60 KM to the White Desert where we shall camp for the night.

Day 4: Dakhla Oasis Rose Cliffs

After taking down camp in the White Desert we continue on our exploration of the Egyptian desert by driving to Farafra Oasis about 40 Km away, then continue to Dakhla oasis which is about 340 Km away. At Dakhla Oasis we check in to Bedouin camp for dinner and overnight. Meanwhile the crew will fuel the cars and buy last minute fresh supplies.

Day 5: Start of the Exploration Sugar loaf and Mud Pans

Prepare to pick up the assigned military escort in the morning and head to last check point. From here we formally leave the paved road towards and move to our first stop the Sugar loaf, a spectacular rock formation. We then continue towards yardnes formation site or famously known as mud pans which is actually an ancient lake site. When the lake dried up the fauna left fossilized in the playa sediment had formed in the shape of sea lions in the direction of the wind giving a spectacular landscape view.

Day 6: Exploration Area Wadi Wassa- Southern Gilf

We move towards Southern Gilf kebir from the east, which is an area much broken by intensive water erosion that created a large system of valleys. We will enter from the wide valley or commonly known as Wadi Wassa there explore southern Gilf, where we shall camp.

Day 7: Exploration Area Shaw Cave, Eight Bells, the Prince Monument,  and Uweinat Mountain

We then continue through the southern Gilf towards the rock art cave discovered by Kennedy Shaw. From there we drive to Eight Bells, where an airport field was marked. After we drive to price monument erected by the Hungarian explorer Almasy dedicated to the late Prince of Egypt Kamal Aldin Hussien, who discovered and named the Gilf Kebir plateau in 1926. Continue to Uweinat Mountain where we shall camp for 2 nights.

Day 8: Exploration Area Uwienat Mountain( Karkur Talh – Belgium site)

This program is planned to visit to the rock art discovered by the Belgium expedition in 1968 and later go visit a spectacular dry water fall with special rock formations. Continue exploring the Egyptian Desert by walking, before we go back to camp.

Uwienat Mountain was discovered by the Egyptian explorer Ahmed Hassanien during the first and only crossing of the Eastern Desert known also as the Sahara by camel, the exploration took 8 months to cover 3500 Kilometers. Hassanien started his legendary expedition from Sallom to El Obied in Sudan. Among the expedition results was determining the correct position of Kufra on the Map of Africa and the discovery of Arkenu and Uwienate. Also he was able to record the forgotten and erased history of the sanussi leaders and the tribes of the desert.

Day 9: Exploration Area Clayton Crater and wadi Sora

Continue our Expedition of Egypt’s Desert by driving north to Clayton craters, a group of volcanic craters. From there continue to wadi sora, or the pictures valley known as the land of rock art in the Gilf Kebir.

First we give a visit to Swimmers Cave discovered by Almasy in 1933. We then visit the Mestqawe-Forggini cave discovered in 2002 with the richest assembly of the rock art drawings and engravings in the whole of Egypt, some travelers consider this cave to be the Sistine Chapel of the African rock art. Later camp in a spectacular area where the rocks were shaped like domes.

Day 10: Exploration Area Aqapa Pass and the Gap Dunes

Now from wadi Sora camp we head east and south on Almasy track towards the Aqaba pass. We will be following the valley that runs from the plain towards the central Gilf Kebir area. At this point we are at an area called the Gop this splits the Gilf Kiber plateau to a northern and southern part. We drive and explore the area looking for any possible habitation traces and stone tools.

Day 11: Exploration Area Gilf Plateaux and Wadi Hamra

Moving from central Gilf Kebir we continue to ascend the sand dunes and cliffs towards the top surface of the plateau, this part may require us to take long walks by groups or as the director may advise. On the top of the plateau we will visit a terrace overlooking the plain, from there we can view a monument was placed by Woltrwad Lama for the late Samir Lama who pioneered 4x4 operations to the top of Gilf Kebir and who explored this area for decades. We then drive to a pass that would take us down into Wadi Hamra. Wadi Hamra is a camp that is also known as one of the most beautiful sites in the Gilf Kiber wall and Sand Sea dunes.

Day 12: Exploration Area Silica Glass

Continue the Egyptian Desert Expedition as we drive north towards the Great Sand Sea. Leaving the Gilf behind we will enter the area of southern Sand Sea where the giant dunes block any passages to east or west. Here we have will drive in between the dunes to find a suitable Camping area. We will then spend the afternoon and the next early morning hour exploring the silica glass and the stone tools.

Day 13: Exploration Area Big Carin

From silica camp we drive farther north in a suitable corridor between the huge dunes and also at a suitable point going west towards Big Carin. Patrick Clayton built Big Carin after his first east west crossing of the sand sea in 1932 Clayton discovered the silica glass area and was the cartographer responsible for mapping the desert.

Day 14: Exploration Area Bair Wahed

Move on with driving north towards Siwa Oasis for the last night of camping. Stop at a petrified wood site and then continue to a hot water spring in between the dunes which formed a lake, bair Wahed, resemble the lakes that once existed in prehistoric times in the Sahara. Overnight Camping in Bir Wahed one of the most beautiful areas in the Sand Sea.

Day 15: Siwa Oasis the Most Mysterious Oasis in Egypt

Today we will be heading to the Siwa Oasis but without visiting the old town of Shally first, there we will have lunch at a nice restaurant. Right before sunset we will visit Dakrour Mountain with a panoramic view of the oasis overlooking the palm trees from one side and the sand dunes on the other side. We then go back to our hotel to check in and prepare for dinner and overnight in stay in a hotel.

Day 16: Sightseeing at Siwa Oasis

Get an early breakfast at the hotel and then we continue our Egypt Desert Expedition with a visit to The tombs inside the Dead Mountain locally known as Gabel El Mouta. Visit the Temple that Alexander the Great built for his oracle, and famous landmarks such as Cleopatra’s bath, and the Temple of Aghormi which is dedicated to the God Amon built in the 26^th Dynasty. Lunch is included during the day tour. Right after lunch we will then transfer to see the Siwa House Museum. Lastly recommended Sunset view at most of the guide books mentioned, this is at Fitnas Lake. From watching the sunset there, drive back to your hotel for dinner and overnight accommodation.

Day 17: Back to Cairo

Right after breakfast then check out and wait for your transfer to your hotel in Cairo and stay there overnight.

Day 18: Homeward Bound

End your Egypt Desert Exploration Tour after breakfast at the hotel and check out, transfer to Cairo international Airport for final departure.