The Gilf Kebir and Jebel Uweinat

Heading west from the already remote oases of the Western Desert this expedition takes us along ancient caravan routes and invisible desert highways through the furthest reaches of Egypt's Libyan Desert to the Gilf Kebir and Jebel Uweinat. Here we explore an other-worldy landscape of rock sculptures and prehistoric art, following in the footsteps of Laszlo Almasy and the Long Range Desert Group before turning north through the Great Sand Sea to the Berber outpost of Siwa. Travelling as a self-sufficient expedition in 4WD vehicles this is a journey of a lifetime for the true desert lover prepared to tolerate some discomfort in order to see places only a few Westerners have ever visited.


South from Cairo
After our arrival we start with an included visit to the Giza Pyramids and Egyptian Museum, home to Tutankhamun's gold, before heading first southwest, to Bahariya, then south to Farafra - a long drive. By any usual measure these oases are remote, however they will seem accessible by the time we arrive in Siwa. At Dakhla we see the remains of the mud brick town called al Qasr before turning west heading towards the Gilf Kebir, taking the Darb al Tarfawi.



The Gilf Kebir and Jebel Uweinat
Having crossed the Selima Sand Sheet we arrive at the eastern flank of the dramatic, 300m high limestone plateau of the Gilf Kebir. By now we have left human habitation far, far behind. Although no-one now lives here this wasn't always the case; prehistoric rock art litters the region, stretching from here into the Fezzan area of Libya and beyond, proving that the area was once habitable for humans. Exploring this Switzerland-sized massif by 4WD and on foot over the next 7 days we'll discover stunning rock sculptures, explore sand-filled wadis and the better-known sites such as the Cave of the Swimmers at Wadi Sura whilst enjoying the simple but increasingly rare experience of utter isolation. Before leaving we make our way to the furthest reach of southwest Egypt and to the foot of the Jebel Uweinat - at 1898m, highest point in mainland Egypt and meeting point of Libya, Sudan and Egypt.



Siwa - Berber Outpost
An epic crossing of the Great Sand Sea - no misnomer as it covers 72,000 square kilometres - we eventually arrive in the Berber town of Siwa; seeming to us a teeming metropolis after our days in the interior. Isolated from the outside world for centuries Siwa has preserved a language and culture unique to itself in Egypt. The crumbling mud-brick houses of Shali old town, some 800 years old, evoke an age when camel caravans plied ancient routes between the Nile valley and Libya. We head out by bike to the Mountain of the Dead and continue to The Oracle at Aghurmi village, the Temple of Umm Ubaayda and Cleopatra's Bath, then commence our final, long drive back to Cairo via Marsa Matruh.