White Desert and the Farafra Depression

A Protected Area Of White Chalk Monoliths Wind Carved Into Mushrooms, Towers And Animal Shapes On A Desert Floor That Looks Like Snow, With The Black Basalt Hills Of The Black Desert And The Quartz Of Crystal Mountain On The Road In · Farafra, New Valley

Between the Bahariya and Farafra oases the Western Desert floor turns white - a chalk plateau eroded by wind into free-standing monoliths shaped like mushrooms, towers, chickens and whatever else the eye supplies, scattered across a plain that genuinely looks like snow in the middle of the Sahara. It is a protected area, and the way to see it is to camp: a four-wheel drive from Bahariya or Farafra takes you in during the afternoon, the guide cooks over a fire, the formations go orange and then violet at sunset, and the night sky is as good as anywhere on earth because there is no settlement for a hundred kilometres. The road in passes the black basalt cones of the Black Desert and the quartz outcrop called Crystal Mountain. The one thing to settle before booking is the paperwork: permits, registered guides and occasional escort requirements have changed repeatedly, and a reputable operator will know the current position.

Chalk desert between Bahariya and Farafra oases, reached off the Cairo-Farafra road about 45 km north-east of Qasr al-Farafra, Farafra, New Valley, Egypt

Open country with no gate and no hours, reached off the Cairo-Farafra road. In practice access is through an operator: self-driving into soft sand without a second vehicle is a bad idea, and permit, registered guide and escort requirements for the Western Desert have changed repeatedly over the years - confirm the current position with a reputable agency in Bahariya, Farafra or Cairo before booking anything. Trips run as overnight camps, leaving the oasis in early afternoon and returning the next morning, which is the right length. Winter nights are genuinely cold and operators carry blankets rather than expecting you to. Buses reach Bahariya and Farafra from Cairo in five to eight hours; there is nothing to buy inside the protected area at all.

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