Since at least 5000 BC, man has been exploiting nature’s gifts in this curve of oases in Egypt’s Western Desert, the most remote of which retains its distinct culture and language. The very word “oasis” conjures a string of romantic images – swirling sands, covered-up Bedu, mirages, the thirsty caravan stumbling into a pool of sweet water set amid swaying palms. Little of this vision has any foundation in modern reality: the caravans have all but vanished, banditry has (mostly) been suppressed, and the Bedu have traded in their camels for Toyotas.
From the Nile, the Sahara stretches 5,000km (3,000 miles) westward to the Atlantic. The world’s greatest expanse of desert is broken only by dots of green, where human habitation has survived the spread of sands.
Contrary to popular imagination, oases generally lie in rocky lands where wind and time have scratched out vast depressions whose depths allow natural underground aquifers to reach the surface.
In Egypt’s Western Desert, a single aquifer flows north from Sudan, running in an arc of five oases roughly parallel to the Nile. Prehistoric remains show that man has been exploiting nature’s gift since at least 5000 BC.
Under the pharaohs, the four Nileward oases – Kharga, Dakhla, Farafra and Bahariya – formed a useful line of defence against Libyan tribes. These days the desert and the oases are popular with wealthy Cairenes and ex-pats who happily exchange the city’s noise and pollution for a weekend of peace and quiet in the desert.
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Others deny that it is an oasis at all, as it is fed not by springs but by the Bahr Yussef, an ancient Nile canal. Until recently, Faiyum was called Al-Fayyum, roughly meaning “the Sea Lake”; it was renamed when it was made the capital of the modern Faiyum Governorate.
An excellent road across the desert connects Faiyum to Cairo, two hours away (leaving Cairo from behind the Giza Pyramids). Alternatively, it can be reached from the more scenic Nile road to Upper Egypt.
It evolved as a well-watered stopping point in the desert, on the Haj pilgrimage route from the coast of northeastern Libya through to the Red Sea, and thus developed many Berber connections.
Until the 1980s when a highway was completed connecting it to the coastal town of Mersa Mahruh, it was completely isolated from the rest of the country. Today the modern Libyan border lies only 50km (31 miles) to the east.
It is not your stereotypical palm grove with a watering hole, but Siwa covers a large area of date palms and olive trees fed by underground springs – and there’s a central salt lake.
Not far beyond the mines the road descends to the Bahariya Oasis, which lies in a depression of the Western Desert covering around 2,000 sq km (770 sq miles). Bahariya consists of many villages, of which Bawiti is the largest and the administrative centre.
Bawiti sits atop a rock outcrop. To the north, cliffs drop abruptly into a sea of palms. Bawiti’s gardens spread for several kilometres along the base of this cliff. Within the gardens, land is so precious that there are few walkways and it is often necessary to paddle through the irrigation channels.
The village of some 15,000 inhabitants has some fine old mudbrick houses built up against the side of a hill, and the oasis has more than 100 natural springs.
The palm gardens on the edge of town are lush, green and full of date palms, olive trees and orange groves. Farafra is also well known for cultivating watermelons. In spite of good road connections, Farafra feels a long way from anywhere (it is 200km/120 miles from Dakhla Oasis, the next town on the desert loop).
Wander around and visit Bir Sitta, sulphurous hot springs 6km (3.75 miles) west of the village, which are now harnessed in a concrete pool. The steaming hot 38ºC (100ºF) waters are said to aid muscle and joint recovery.
Well supplied with water from more than 500 springs and pools, the area is a major producer of wheat, mangoes, olives, dates, figs, mulberries and citrus fruits, all of which are exported throughout Egypt; indeed, no trip to Dakhla would be complete without a walk through its fragrant fields and gardens.
The New Valley Project, an ambitious scheme to bring water from Lake Nasser to irrigate the Western Desert, has more than doubled Dakhla’s size in recent years, but it retains more of its original laid-back charm than Kharga, to which it is connected by a 190 km (120-mile) road and daily buses.
Five kilometres (3 miles) north of Asyut, a paved road leads past industrial complexes up into the desert. About 230km (143 miles) of barren gravel later, the road suddenly descends a magnificent cliff into the Kharga Depression, which extends southward, narrowing at its extremity, for 100km (60 miles).
Visitors to the oasis should realise it is merely an administrative centre and has little of the appeal normally associated with oases such as Siwa or Bahariya, although much of the population consists of resettled Upper Egyptians, and the hotels, duck farms and packaging industries point to some degree of prosperity.
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There are daily buses that connect Cairo to Bahariya (5-6 hours) and to Siwa (10-12 hours).
However, if you only have time to visit one or two, it’s possible to explore them in 2-4 days. However, when travelling in the desert, always factor in extra time for travel and unexpected delays.
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If you prefer to avoid the crowds and don't mind the heat, you can visit during the summer months from April to September. However, temperatures can soar above 40°Celsius (104°F) during the day, so be prepared for extreme heat.
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written by Rough Guides Editors
updated 25.04.2023
