White Desert
The White Desert is one of the most visited places in western Egypt. Surreal rock formations and really white sands contrast strangely with the yellow desert. The rocks here come in incredible colors – blue, pink, orange, they look especially spectacular when the sun goes down, and the sands at night resemble snow. If it weren’t for the heat, one could well imagine being in the Arctic.
General Information
The Bedouins call this place “Wadi Ghazar”, or “Carrot Valley”, after the shape of some of the cliffs.
Many millions of years ago, there was a sea in place of the desert. When it dried up, what was left behind were multiple limestone deposits formed from the calcified remains of marine life – plankton, snails, ammonites, corals. For thousands of years, the wind has carved out of limestone various sculptures resembling white sphinxes, stone camels or mythological birds. The height of some figures reaches 10-12 meters. Unfortunately, unconscious tourists destroyed many unique natural sculptures before the White Desert was declared a National Park in 2002 and caretakers appeared here..
Most tourists get to the White Desert from Cairo, traveling about 500 kilometers by car. Incidentally, on the way to the White Desert, travelers encounter the Black Desert first.
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It is a must to see the springs in the surrounding area. Unlike the rest of the desert, which is 120 kilometers from the Farafra Lowlands, here the springs are marked by elevations in places where the sand has swallowed the vegetation near the water. The plants continue their struggle despite the sand constantly threatening to smother them, and the end result is hills that look remarkably spectacular.
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