Palm groves
Around the villages.
Ahmedherz — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Neil Carey — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Viktor Lazić — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Viktor Lazić — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ahmedherz — CC BY-SA 4.0
Bahariya is a depression and a rich oasis in Egypt's Western Desert, part of Giza Governorate, about 297 km southwest of Cairo in a straight line and about 370 km by road. Its oval valley runs 94 km long and up to 42 km wide, covering about 2,000 square kilometres. Mountains surround the valley, which has many springs, and its economy rests on farming, iron ore mining and tourism, with guavas, mangoes, dates and olives the main crops. In Roman times it was called the «Small Oasis». Its largest village is Bawiti, the administrative centre, where a Greco-Roman cemetery known as the «Valley of the Golden Mummies» was found in 1995. Thick green palm groves surround the villages, set between gold- and rust-coloured desert mountains, the most striking being the pyramid-shaped Gebel el-Dist near Bawiti. The Black Desert lies to the south. The oasis is a base for trips to the Black and White deserts; visitors stay at lodges in the oasis, walk in the palm groves and climb the hills at sunset. The road from Cairo is long, so allow at least two days. Some governments advise caution for travel in the Western Desert, so check current travel advice before the trip.
Around the villages.
A pyramid-shaped hill.
Black and white.
Bawiti, Bahariya Oasis, Giza Governorate, Egypt
At least two.
The Black and White deserts.