Travel to Bahariya

home to the historically nomadic Wahati tribe

Bahariya is an oasis town, out in the Western Desert of Egypt, around 300 km southwest of Giza and 500 km northwest of Luxor.

This oasis is centred on a network of springs and lakes, surrounded by fields and palm groves, at the centre of a large depression of around 2000 sq km (775 sq mi). The main agricultural products are guavas, mangos, dates, and olives. There is also extensive mining of iron ore in the area.

The town of Bahariya is a combination of a string of villages, mainly on the southern side of the oasis, populated by the Waḥati people, who are mainly descended from the nomadic tribes of the Libyan Desert.

Traditional music is particularly important to the desert people, with flutes, drums and simsimiyya harps being played at social gatherings.

Bahariya was well known to the ancient Egyptians, featuring on a list of desert outposts found at the Temple of Edfu and being the site of a battle fought by King Kamose (1555-1550 BC).

Various historic sites, including tombs, mummies and other artefacts, have been discovered in the area, although the sites are of niche interest only.

Around 30 km south of Bahariya there is an area known as the Black Desert, where some remarkable scenery features peculiar volcano-shaped mounds with characteristic dark summits. Petrified forests and dinosaur remains have been discovered here.

Bahariya is usually visited as part of a guided overland safari, exploring a number of different oases in the Western Desert, over the course of 5-8 nights.

The routing for these expeditions usually starts at Giza and visits Bahariya, Farafra, Dakhla and El Kharga, ending in Luxor.

Unfortunately there are presently security concerns in some of these areas and trips to the Western Deserts are often limited to day trips out of Giza and Luxor, sometimes with a night of camping out in the wilderness.

the usual first stop on a desert expedition