Egyptian National Park White Desert is a small area located north of the Farafra oasis. The path to the national park is quite difficult, but the beauty of this place is worth it.
The White Desert in Egypt is a small area in the east of the Sahara Desert with an area of approximately 300 km2. (10 km x30 km), lying on the road between the oases of Bahariya and Farafra. The distance from Cairo to the White Desert is 500 km; The White Desert is known for its bizarre karst * formations. Many millions of years ago there was an ocean floor here, and the white rock is the remains of marine microorganisms. Over the centuries, wind and sand have turned the former sea floor into a semblance of the surface of some other planet. The desert has a creamy white color - a massive chalk rock formed as a result of periodic sandstorms in the area.
Since 2002, the White Desert has been declared a national park of Egypt.
The road to the White Desert will take you about 4 hours from Cairo along the Black Desert. The latter is a huge hill made of dark stones.
Before entering the national park, you will find yourself in the Bahariya oasis. He keeps within himself a thousand unsolved secrets. At the beginning of the 21st century, tombs with mummies, covered with a layer of gold, were discovered there. The area around was called the Valley of the Golden Mummies. Researchers often came there, and after them tourists. Two ancient Egyptian tombs were specially opened for them. It is forbidden to photograph them, but I think you will forever remember the beauty of interior paintings.
You can stay overnight in the oasis. The service here is excellent, there are plenty of hotels with different price policies.
In the morning we go to the White Desert National Park. Its area is huge, over 3 thousand square kilometers. The journey takes only about an hour.
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At the entrance to the park is the Crystal Mountain. A stunning beauty place! Crystals shine in the sun, giving the environment a certain mystery. Minerals are scattered on the ground, tourists collect them. Soon there won't be one!
The next place along the way is a small green island with a drinking spring, where tourists can collect water for their onward journey. And immediately behind the oasis, an amazing view opens up of the White Desert, which actually consists of limestone.
This is not at all a deserted place, as it seems at first glance. Looking closer, you will see many animal tracks. Here is a fox and a lizard and a jerboa.
Travelers are interested in mushrooms. These are huge limestone blocks of white color, the top of which looks like the cap of a real boletus. There are also quite bizarre stones. For example, one looks like a bunny, and the other looks like a fox.
Tourists are surprised by little black stones that are scattered everywhere here. Scientists and researchers suggest that these are fossilized corals from an ancient sea.
The best time to travel in the White Desert is winter. It is insanely hot here in summer, up to 60 degrees. In terms of the number of tourists, the White Desert can compete with the beaches of Sharm el-Sheikh. Travelers usually go there on a classic jeep safari or take a leisurely camel ride there.
It is very dangerous to go to the White Desert on your own. You may get lost, or worse, a wild animal will attack you. From Egyptian travel agencies, book a jeep safari to this location. The Egyptian driver knows the route, can cook a quick lunch over the fire.
Further, after the Valley of Mushrooms, sandy fields begin. There are no greenery or animals here. Everything became extinct in this area. There you will also see huge five-story dunes.
The White Desert National Park ends with yet another oasis. It is a small Bedouin village. Local residents do not pay attention to tourists and lead a quiet measured life. Here you will not see multi-storey buildings - only typical Egyptian houses. The first hotel was built in this oasis several years ago. It contrasts with the surrounding world. Maybe for the sake of such contrasts it is worth traveling …
A couple of kilometers from the oasis there are hot springs, natural spas of Egypt.
The White Desert is a unique place, not found anywhere else on Earth. The terrain is flat here, so you can go for a walk or by car. But due to the softness of the sand, you will only be able to drive in an all-wheel drive SUV.
In order to go here, you first need to obtain permission from the authorities, local guides help to quickly deal with these issues. The desert is perfectly clean, tourists leave nothing behind. All waste is packed in special plastic containers and recycled.
The most interesting attraction is a white rock balancing on a white pillar. The snow-white desert is actually made of chalk, which has formed formations for millennia. Stone mushrooms in the desert were once common mountain formations, but over time, their foundations were erased by wind and sand, which blows here at a fairly high speed. Here are these stone monuments, contrary to all the laws of gravity. It seems that they can collapse at any moment, but this does not happen. Monuments of various shapes here are domes, castles, towers, minarets.
In Egyptian, this amazing place is called Sahara el Beyda, where sahara means desert.
The best time to travel here is from October to March. It is also interesting to visit the springs in the surrounding area, they are usually surrounded by lush vegetation.