Egypt desert El Gilf Elkebir tour

El Gilf Elkebir Western desert

Duration: 15 Days / 14 Nights

Day 1
Upon your arrival at the Cairo International Airport, you will be greeted by a  representative who will assist you through the immigration and customs formalities. You will then be transferred by a deluxe vehicle to your hotel in Cairo to check in and stay overnight.

Day 2
After breakfast we will drive to Bahareya oasis. Upon arrival we will visit the Alexander the Great tomb, Valley of the Golden Mummies and the Tombs of the Nobles. In the afternoon we will enjoy the highest point in Bahareya (the English Mountain), and go back for dinner and overnight hotel.

Day 3
After breakfast we will head towards Farafra Oasis, passing by Crystal Mountain and the White Desert. In Farafra we will visit the local Heritage Museum and continue to Dakhla Oasis. We will go back to the hotel to enjoy a swim in the natural hot spring of Bir El Gabal, followed by dinner Egypt desert El Gilf Elkebir tour .

Day 4
After breakfast we will begin our expedition into “no mans land” and our route to El Gilf Elkebir area. As we move on, signs of life perish, and the only thing dominating is sand and vastness. We arrive to our campsite at Pottery Hill and trek the area and rediscover what it was like thousands of year ago (rock inscriptions, tools, and fossils). We will camp for the night and have dinner in Abou Ballas.

Day 5
During the days spent in Eastern El Gilf Elkebir, we will travel through terrain hardly visited by anyone, arriving to Wadi Bakht Kemal Eldin. Touching the borders of both Libya and Sudan, we will explore ancient settlements, remote oases, rock inscriptions and geological formations. We will also visit the eight bells (landing area of the Second World War), and travel to places only few people have been to. We will camp for the night and have dinner.

Day 6
From Wadi Bakht, meaning the Valley of the Fortunes, to Wadi Karkur we become closer to El Gilf Elkebir area. We will visit Awaynat, and camp for the night and have dinner at Karkur Tahl.

Day 7
Traveling deeper into the El Gilf Elkebir area, we discover the caves of Wadi Sura. Using flashlights we go deep in those caves recognizing the rock inscriptions that resemble inhabitants hunting and swimming. Ancient lake deposits characterize the upper part of the plateau. For thousands of years, hunters armed with stone tools lived here. Wherever we drive, we will find evidence of ancient rock tools. We will camp for the night and have dinner.

Day 8
Heading deeper, we will start exploring the colored mountains with inscriptions that were featured in the film “The English Patient”. We will reach the Aqaba passage, trek for 940 meters high till reaching Wadi Hamra, on top of El Gilf Elkebir, where we see under valleys, fossils & great sand dunes. We will camp for the night and have dinner Egypt desert El Gilf Elkebir tour.

Day 9
From El Gilf Elkebir to the Silica glass area “A mystery in a Mysterious Land”, it is believed that this material belongs to a meteorite that fell to earth in a distant geological age (28.5 million years). We will camp for the night and have dinner at the border of the great sand dunes.

Day 10
We will start heading towards the “Great Sand Sea”, camping in the middle of the ancient withdrawn ocean that once covered Egypt’s deep deserts before retreating to the confinement of today’s Mediterranean Sea basin, full of petrified corals & fossils. We will camp for the night and have dinner.

Day 11
We are inside the “Great Sand Sea”, one of the most wonderful and mysterious deserts. Its a real adventure is to be able to overcome the high sand dunes which we call “Sailing the Sahara”. We will camp for the night and have dinner.

Day 12
After breakfast we will reach the outskirts of Siwa where we will visit Cleopatra’s Spring, Mountain of the Dead, Alexander the Great Temple (Temple of the Oracle), and take a donkey-drawn cart for a tour around Shali Village, followed by dinner and an overnight stay at the hotel.

Day 13
After breakfast we will head back to Cairo passing by Mersa Matruh, and we will visit the Alamein Museum & World War II Memorial. Upon arrival in Cairo, you will have dinner and stay overnight at the hotel.

Day 14
After breakfast we will dedicate a full day to visiting the most important Archeological sights in Cairo, starting with the Pyramids & the Sphinx, and followed by the Egyptian Museum, the Citadel & Khan El Khalili Bazaar. Later, you will have dinner and stay overnight at the hotel.

Day 15
After breakfast you will check out from the hotel, and be transferred to Cairo International Airport for final departure.