Cairo and the Giza pyramids

After arriving at Cairo International Airport in the middle of the night we transferred to the Sphinx Guest House in Giza. At breakfast we had a great view of the pyramids from the roof terrace. That made up for the short night sleep.

As soon as the gates opened we started our tour around the pyramids. Next to the smallest Pyramid of Menkaure a friendly guard was showing us some hidden entrances.

The afternoon we relaxed on the rooftop terrace after a good lunch and at night we enjoy the light show before going to dinner.

Then we called it the day early to prepare for the trip to the desert the next day.

Bahariya and Crystal Mountains

On Sunday morning we made the 350 km drive from Cairo to the Bahariya Oasis in the Western Desert. After leaving the Cairo suburbs it was a long road with mainly military checkpoints and mobile phone base sations as the landmarks. About halfway there was a cafe that was visited by many travelers on the road.

In Bahariya we had lunch in the house of the local travel representative and then continued by car to the lookout point in the Crystal Mountains where our hike starts.
We meet Shaheed our bedouin guide with his 2 camels. After checking that the daypacks carried sufficient water we made a first short hike to the night camp in the Crystal Desert.

It was a short hike but already it showed us some of the nice desert views that we were to see in the next 6 days.

 

Sunrise in the Desert

While the sun was still behind the mountains in the east at six in the morning, the moon in the last quarter was nearing the horizon in the west. While the sun climbed higher the colors became deeper and faded away again as the sun appeared over the mountains.

After breakfast we took off for the first day of real hiking. We walk through the Crystal Desert in the morning where the surface is relatively flat and we walk on limestone and patches of sand.
The Toyota Lancruiser with our food and gear is passing us when we descend into a valley. Later we meet them again for the morning break with fruit and juice.

 

From Cairo to the Western Desert

The blue line on the map above shows the 350 km road we followed from the Sphinx Guest House in Giza to the lunch stop in the Bahariya Oasis in the Western Desert. After lunch we continued 97 km by car by the red line to the Chrystal Mountains.
The green line is the 98 km hike we made from Sunday to Friday.
The 3 lines were tracked by my Garmin Oregon 400t GPS.

On the Monday afternoon we entered "El Algabad" or "The Difficult" as can be seen from the pictures on the left. Sandy streches and white chalk rock formations in a beautiful contrast of colors even more highlighted by the sunset. Dinner was served in the dark but with light from the car battery as can be seen when we enjoyed after dinner coffee and tea.

Lunch and afternoon nap ...

To provide some shade during the hottest time of the day our crew did setup a tent for lunch where they would cook the meal and we then eat together. We did not leave the tent until around 2:30 to 3 pm for the afternoon hike.

Today we saw some strange forms of vegeatation in this dry and hot environment and arrived at what seemed to be a miracle:
"Ain El Serw" or the Magic Spring.

Magic Spring to White Desert

Leaving the refreshing water of the Magic Spring we walk over sand and slate undergrounds. The going in the sand is heavy and in case you have not yet noticed: that is why I have pictures of my fellow hikers and our Bedouin guide walking in front of me.

After the lunch break the landscape is changing again and we are entering the White Desert. Amazing sculptures of chalk rock in beautiful contrast with the color of sand and blue skies.

Unfortunatele we are not lucky with the sunset. By the time the sun is disappearing behind the horizon there is a layer of clouds and therefore we do not see the red and scarlet colors of the sculptures as was promised in the travel brochures.

White Desert to Western Desert

During our usual breakfast in the sun we continue to be amazed about the white sculptures around us.
From the tracks in the sand and the other camp sites around us it is clear that this is a favourite area for tourists.When we leave for todays hike it is the first time we actually see another group walking in the same area.

After we leave the white sculptures behind us we walk over a relatively flat area with again sand and slate undergrounds. In the far distance we see our destination: the hills of the Western Desert. The morning break is in an area with some bush growth and after that we cross the only road in the area. Then the lunch break is in an amazing spot again: just before we reach the hills of the Western Desert suddenly some palmtrees provide us with a nice shade in a fine breeze and with a view of the hills to come.

Although the sculptures in the Western Desert may look like the ones in the White Desert the difference is mainly landscape with hills and valleys. At the night camp I managed to take a picture of one of the several desert foxes we saw during the night.

Western Desert last hiking day

The map above shows the GPS track of the hike. As the most detailed map of Egypt only shows the main road in orange and some road tracks in white for the area of the hike there are no more details shown. The elevation plots of each track show that the hight differences during the hike varied from 20 to 100 meters without any real steep hills.

Today we explored several valleys in the Western Desert without climbing onto the hills around us. Again the landscape is fascinating and our support team was preparing the lunch in the shade of an overhanging rock. After we arrived at the final night camp our bedouin guide and his 2 camels left us as he had to prepare for another hike with a new group of tourists.

The following day we drove from the camp to Bahariya Oasis and later that day from there to the Cairo International Airport by the same roads as shown on the map earlier.

Last Updated: 17-Aug-19 | © Menno 2006 - 2019 | email: webmaster View from the roof terrace of the Sphinx Guest House The Sphinx Guest House Here thye Solar Barque was found Entrances to the Pyramid of Menkaure Camels waiting to bring tourists to the pyramids The Sphinx in front of the Pyramid of Khafre The Menkaure and Khafre Pyramids Sunset behind the Khafre Pyramid The road to Bahariya The road from Cairo with the cafe The house of Mohammed Aleef in Bahariya where we had lunch Houses and Palm trees in Bahariya Ready to start the hike at the Chrystal Mountain Shaheed and his camels are leading us into the Western Desert