Black hills
To the horizon.
Myousry6666 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Silviapef — CC BY 2.0 · "A photograph is a secret about a secret..." — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Viktor Lazić — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Viktor Lazić — CC BY-SA 4.0
The Black Desert is a region of widely spaced, volcano-shaped hills stretching for about 30 km in Egypt's Western Desert, between the White Desert to the south and the Bahariya Oasis to the north, about 21 km southwest of Bawiti in a straight line. Most of the hills are capped by basalt sills, which give them their characteristic black colour, and some reach 100 metres high. Some are dark iron quartzite, others reddish iron sandstone, and on the edges are volcanic hills dating from the Jurassic period about 180 million years ago. It was declared a nature reserve in 2010. Black conical hills rise from wide golden sands, as if black dust had been sprinkled over their tops, with black volcanic pebbles scattered on their slopes. From the top of any hill dozens of similar hills stretch to the horizon under a clear blue sky. Tours to the White Desert usually stop here, and visitors walk up one of the hills near the road in a few minutes for the view. The climb is easy but the pebbles slide underfoot, and the sun is strong by day. Some governments advise caution for travel in the Western Desert, so check current travel advice before the trip.
To the horizon.
On the slopes.
From the top.
Between Bahariya Oasis and the White Desert, Egypt
Easy, but the pebbles slip.
As part of a White Desert tour.