1^st Day: Cairo – Al Fayoum Oasis

Crystal Mountain – In the afternoon we will pick you up at the reception of your hotel in Cairo and you will travel to the Al Fayoum Oasis where you will have dinner and spend the night in a hotel. If you stay in any other part of Egypt such as Luxor or the Red Sea we can of course organize the transfer to Cairo or directly to the oasis for you.

Dinner included. Overnight in Al Fayoum Oasis.

2^nd Day: Al Fayoum Oasis

Al Fayoum is the largest oasis all over the country. The city of Fayoum is considered to be the oldest town in Egypt. Near the city you can see the remains of the pyramids of Amenemhet III in Hawara and Sesostris II in Al-Lahun. Another symbol of Fayoum are the hundreds of waterwheels lifting water into the irrigation canals; their invention dates back to the Romans. You will have lunch in a local restaurant. Then you will see the Wadi Al-Hitan (‘Whale Valley’), a great landscape with caramel-colored rock formations which was once an ocean’s seabed, so you can find countless fossils, skeletons, corals and shells of all kinds and sizes, among them more than 250 skeletons of prehistoric whales. You will spend the night in a hotel in the oasis where you will also have dinner.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner included. Overnight in Al Fayoum.

3^rd Day: Al Fayoum Oasis – Al Bahariya Oasis

After breakfast you will visit the Wadi Al-Rayan; amidst the desert you can find two lakes turning the desert here into a beautiful green oasis with a remarkable wildlife. The landmarks are the waterfalls between the upper and the lower lake. We will further make a short stop on the foot of the Al-Mudawara Mountains where the rough rocks and the golden desert meet the idyllic blue lake in a lonely bay. You will have lunch in a local restaurant. In the evening you will arrive to Al Bahariya where you will have dinner and spend the night in a hotel.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner included. Overnight in a hotel in the Bahariya Oasis.

4^th Day: Al Bahariya Oasis

Al Bahariya is one of the biggest and most important oases in the Western Desert. Visit the town of Al-Bawiti where you can see the oasis’ fruit-growing and lifestyle, and discover remains of the region’s history. A necropolis of the Greco-Roman contained countless different mummies, among them numerous gold-plated ones, the so-called ‘Golden Mummies’. You will see some of them here in the museum. Further you can see the remains of Ain Al-Tibniya, a temple dating back to the reign of Alexander the Great who is said to have passed by this oasis, the tomb of Banentiu where you can see well preserved colored hieroglyphs and paintings, and the temple area of Ain Al-Muftella with four around 2,600 years old chapels whose walls are preserved up to a height of around two meters, showing various beautiful decorations. Lunch will be served in a local restaurant. The rest of the day will be at your own disposal and gives you time to relax in your hotel or to walk around on your own to enjoy the landscape. You will have dinner in your hotel.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner included. Overnight in a hotel in the Bahariya Oasis.

5^th Day: Black & White Desert

In the early morning you will enter a 4×4 jeep and drive into the Black Desert with its countless rock formations and witness buttes covered by black basalt. Lunch will be served as a picnic. Then you will travel to the White Desert National Park. Once the seabed of an ocean it features myriads of white chalk sediments, formed by the rough desert weather to spectacular shapes. Enjoy this unique landscape, see the famous Crystal Mountain , a ridge laced with sparkling crystal, and the scenic Valley of Al-Agabat where white cliffs meet sand dunes and yellow limestone rocks. In the late afternoon you will arrive to your first camp. After a tasty dinner you will sleep in a tent – or under the starlit desert sky.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner included. Overnight in a camp in the White Desert.

6^th to 8^th Day: White Desert Trekking

During great trekking tours with experienced guides you will discover the miracles of the White Desert, the enchanting landscape with its countless amazing rock formations and the endless desert sands. You will spend the nights in camps. In the evening of the last day you will be transferred to the Farafra Oasis where you will have dinner in a hotel.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner included. Overnight in a camp in the White Desert and in the last night in a hotel in El Farafra.

9^th Day: Al Farafra Oasis – Al Dakhla Oasis

After breakfast in your hotel you will enjoy a tour through the Farafra Oasis with its lush gardens with palms and fruit trees, the hot springs, the farmers’ dwellings and the very special museum of the local artist Badr who exhibits all kinds of artwork produced by himself and consisting of all kinds of items and materials found in the desert. After lunch in a local restaurant you will head to the Dakhla Oasis, a vast green area surrounded by rosy cliff. On the way you will visit the remains of Al Qasr, an old Islamic fortified settlement with various well preserved buildings – houses, mosques, a mill, a madrasa (Koran school) and craftsmen’s workshops. You will have dinner and spend the night in a hotel.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner included. Overnight in a hotel in the Dakhla Oasis.

10^th Day: Al Dakhla Oasis – Al Kharga Oasis

After breakfast in your hotel you will enjoy a trip to remains of the Roman temple Deir El Hagar, a sandstone temple dedicated to the Theban Triad, the Egyptian God Amun, his wife Mut and their son Khonsu, a greatly preserved temple with countless interesting reliefs. Then you will see the burial ground Qarat el-Muzawwaqa with its colorfully decorated tombs dating back to the Greco-Roman era. Further you will visit the old and partly ruined city centers of Budchulu and Qalamun with buildings dating back to the medieval times. After lunch in a local restaurant we will take you now to the Kharga Oasis. You will visit the Temple of Hibis, a well preserved sanctuary built of sandstone dating back to the 5^thcentury BC and Bagawat, a necropolis of the regional early Christians with more than 260 burial chapels. Then you will have dinner in your hotel.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner included. Overnight in a hotel in the Kharga Oasis.

11^th Day: Al Kharga Oasis – Luxor

After breakfast you will visit see the remains of Qasr Dush dating back to the Greco-Roman era, with its fortress and the well preserved temple. It was once an important crossroad for caravan routes. Then you will see the remains of Qasr El Labakha, a Roman fortified settlement. You can visit among others the large fortress, sanctuaries and some remaining qanats, underground aqueducts which once provided the village and its fields with water. After lunch you will leave the Kharga Oasis and bring you to your hotel in Luxor. This concludes our program and services.

Breakfast and lunch included.

Included:

• All mentioned transfers in high-class air-conditioned vehicles
• Guided tours in your language
• Entrance fees for the above mentioned sights
• Hotel accommodations in the oases with half-board
• Accommodation in camps in the White Desert during the trekking tour
• Mineral water and soft drinks during the excursions and tours

Not included:

• Gratuity (tips) for drivers, tour guides
• Personal items, meals, drinks or services not mentioned
• International and domestic flights
• Visa