The land of black and white deserts
Black and White desert at Bahariya Oasis Egypt are known for its unique black, white and crystal desert formations that are out of the world- a must visit destination while at Cairo. About 5 hours drive from Cairo passing Bawiti. This is the location where Bollywood song “Suraj hua maddham” from Kabhie Kushi Kabhi Gham was shot
We took a day tour through Emo tours. Avoid driving on your own. The region is not well marked, GPS doesn’t work well, driving is mostly offroad, with multiple official and unofficial checks on the way. Unlike Siwa oasis, this is not too close to Libyan border, but there have been reports of crime long back in the past. It is good to have a local operator navigate the region. Driving would be too far and tiring anyway
We had debated staying overnight which most people recommend. You can see clear skies with Milky way at night. We were short of time. In addition, there are no toilets if you camp in the desert, which was a problem when you are travelling with seniors
We started at 7 AM from Cairo. It took 4 hours to reach Bawiti, the village closest to the desert where we stopped to change vehicles into 4×4. Our first stop was crystal mountain. There are multiple small mountains in the desert which have crystal formations
The black desert is closer to the nearest village Bawiti compared wo white desert. The color comes from small volcanic rocks that cover the sand. We were taken to the supposed mouth of the volcano
On the way, we saw a lone palm tree in the middle of no-where in the desert. It a miracle for a tree to grow without water sources around
Further away after about an hour comes the white desert with unique chalk formations. There are lots of chalk mountains around in different shapes- mushroom, camels, chicken, everything you can imagine!
Longer stays can help in finding desert animals like Fennec fox. Most people staying overnight camp in the middle of the desert. If you want access to toilets, staying at Bawiti is another option, although less optimal
The tour included lunch with local delicacies like orzo pasta soup, fresh vegetable salad, tomato based curry like dish, pita bread, rice with a nice seating arrangement inside a hut like building