Desert, Bedouins & Hot Springs
On camelback round the oasis
Eight days on camelback through the desertExperience the fascination of the desert round Dakhla and enjoy calm, spaciousness and seclusion amidst nature.
You will discover the desert's variety, discern its stony and harsh forms in one moment, the next you will see it as a sea of endless sanddunes. You will pass by small settlements and artefacts of the roman times. All the time on camelback and accompanied and guided by your bedouin hosts. They will open up a completely different sense of living to you. A life where clocks tick more slowly and time is at your hand in abundance.
You will take your daily bath in numerous hot mineral springs, put up your bed whereever you like at sunset. Bedouins will let you watch them preparing the traditional meals. Finish your day at a campfire.
Tourroute
El Dohous, El Aweina, Gebel Abiat, Wadi El Bauabat, Bir Hassan, El Nagb, Bir Gebel, El Qasr, Wadi Etamasiah, Bir Bassatin, Aijn Aracha, Zar Sura, Magic Spring, El Dohous
Description of tour
Three meals will be freshly prepared every day. There will a hot meal in the evening - based on traditional bedouin recipes.
Day One: Stone desert, El Aweina cemetery and Gebel Abiat mountainsMeet the bedouins and camels accompanying you in the morning. Riding past the desert on the left and fields on the right you will reach the old cemetery of El Aweina. Local people come to the single white tomb of Sheikh Mohammed to ask the deseased for favours and the fulfilment of their wishes. Your ride continues towards the first hot spring under palm trees. Jump in and take a refreshing bath. You will continue across a stony and hilly desert towards the mountains on the horizon. Night camp will be set up at the foot of the white mountain Gebel Abiat. From there you can see the whole of Oasis Dakhla.
Day Two: The stone circles of Wadi Bauabat, idyllic Bir Hassan and El Nagb
After breakfast you will ride along the mountain range towards Wadi El Bauabat. There you will find surreal stone circles amidst the desert. Local rumours says that there are pharaonic tombs below. Several illegal attempts at digging and finding these have so far been undertaken without success. Having ascended to a plateau you will view your next resting place: Idyllic Bir Hassan full of palm trees, fields and pastures. After a refreshing bath in the spring and a strengthening meal you will continue towards El Nagb. Your ride takes you deeper into the desert. Sand covered mountain ranges stretch on both sides of your path. You will rest for the night at El Nagb. There you will be able to enjoy the changes of the mountain range's and the desert sand's colours. The solitude of a vast open area will let you feel tiny.
Day Three: The imposing mountain range El Nagb and the Oasis Bir Gebel
You will depart from El Nagb and ride throughout the whole day on camel through silent and multi-facial desert formations. Use the day to collect colourful stones and enjoy for the last time the imposing mountain range close by. In the afternoon you will arrive at the tiny settlement of Bir Gebel, once a small oasis, now connected to the electricity grid. Take another bath in the hot spring and sooth your skin in water reach in minerals. Night camp will be set up here.
Day Four: The historical clay settlement El Qasr and the limitless space of the sand
desertYou will get close to desert civilisation during this day. Your eyes will feast today. For your camel the day will mean some effort. The path winds through pillar rock formations towards El Qasr with its fascinating old town made of clay. Its origins are said to date back to the Pharaos, yet its present structure was laid out during the rule of the Mamelucs and Ottomans. Take your time to roam in the old alleys and visit a still-functional ancient pottery. In the afternoon you will cross the road connecting the two oases Farafra and Dakhla. Immerse yourself again into the sand desert, enjoy the lightness of open space and wonder at the sight of green fields, suddenly popping up admist white dunes.
Day Five: Sanddunes, fishdunes and Wadi Etamasiah
After you first night in the sand desert and a strengthening breakfast your ride today will lead you to Wadi Etamasiah. In the course of millions of years Nature has created here spectacular clay formations which the Bedouins describe as big fish. The formations came into existence as the water of the oceans receded. You will put up you night camp here sheltered by these rolling fishdunes. There will be no stones, no mountains, no palm trees, only sand and silence.
Day Six: Silence and spaciousness of the sandy ocean, Oasis Bir BassatinBy now the desert will have become your friend. You will have adjusted to the daily rhythm of the Bedouins and know how they look after their camels. You will cross sanddunes again on camel back and play soccer during the lunch break.
Maybe the soft rolling sand dunes has turned you meditative and let the last skin of city life's stress vanish. In the evening you will reach Bir Bassatin. At that time the farmers will depart from their fields near the spring to let you enjoy it alone. Only the stars and the milky way will be watching you.
Day Seven: The sunken village Ayin Aracha and the olive tree plantations
Today's tour will take you to Ayin Aracha, an ancient settlement almost completely covered by sand. After a break you will continue to Zar Sura. In Bedouin language this means "place with many trees". The name originates from a small forest, rarely seen in oases. Enjoy the splendid atmosphere among the olive trees. Join the local population in their love for this place full of shadow and birds' chanting. You will camp under stunning old camphor trees.
Day Eight: The Magic SpringAfter breakfast in the morning you will leave Ayin Aracha heading back to the starting point, El Dohous. You will be looking forward to the Magic Spring. In the middle of the sandy nowhere a hole releases comfortably warm water. The water carries a lot of oxygen making it bubble, thus creating a prickly effect on your skin. Like the camels you will enjoy the shadowy surroundings which have grown around the spring.
After lunch you will return across the last part of the desert and fields of Oasis Dakhla to the hotel El Dohous. There you can enjoy the hospitality and relaxed attitude of the oasis' population before you return to either hectic and crowded Cairo or Luxor.
Service included:
- Tour on camel
- One camel per participant
- Full board - three meals per day
- Local bedouins as guides
- Drinks and tips
Dakhla- Kharga, 8 day-trip on camelback
Day one: El Dohous Bedouin CampWe meet our camels and make ourselves on the way direction mountains. On our left side we have the desert, on our right the fields. We enter the stony and hilly desert and put up our night camp at the foot of the mountain.
Day two: El Anagb
After breakfast we start our day riding along the mountain ranges. We go deeper into the desert. The first sand shows up, and we rest for the night at El Anagb.
Day three: Darb el Chabai
On the rhythm of our camels we climb up the mountain and enjoy the silence and the beauty of the nature around us.
Day four: Gilf Abu TarturToday we reach the Abu Tartur Plateau that outlines the Kharga depression
Day five: Darb Ain Amur
Ain Amur, a small oasis between Dakhla and Kharga, became an important settlement as the caravans took a rest near the spring. Still a part of the temple and a cemetery remains.
Day six: Ain Um Dhabadib
We visit the old fortress, which goes back to the Roman Byzantium times. It is situated at the beginning of the caravan route. The many trees and bushes nearby, witness of the presence of water in this region.
Day seven: Direction Kharga
In the neighbourhood of Kharga, many Roman places were built, wherever a spring was eyed.
Day eight: Kharga
We say goodbye to our camels. Transfer by jeep to either Dakhla or Luxor
Number of participants: Minimum 6 (six), maximum 12 (twelve) persons
Three meals will be freshly prepared every day.
Dakhla - White Desert- Dakhla
12-day trip on Camelback and by 4-wheel drive
Day one: White desert on the west sideYou arrive in the White Desert by bus or by jeep, where the camels are waiting for you. Our driver and cook will always drive ahead, prepare the meals and the night camp.
Day two and three: The white desert
After breakfast we leave on camelback and move about 25 km a day. You get the time to enjoy the different view and get used to the silence of the desert.
Day four and five: El Agabat and the Rose DesertWe visit this beautiful valley with its mountain formations. The white cliffs great the sand dunes and the limestone rock, so well known for the Sahara.
Day six and seven: Magic spring
In the middle of nowhere you will be surprised to find magic spring, surrounded by palm trees and where you can even have a bath.
Day eight and nine: White Desert on the east side
We stay in the White desert, but once again the landscape and formations are completely different.
Day ten and eleven: El Dokkar and the big sand dunes
Those dunes are formed by the wind that always blows in one direction. They move about a 100m a year.
Day 12: El Dokkar
We say goodbye to the camels and drive to Dakhla by jeep
– Dakhla
Number of participants: Minimum 6, maximum 12 persons
Three meals will be freshly prepared every day
This trip can also be done the other way around.
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