Bahariyya

Bahariyya is an oasis in the Western Desert of Egypt. It is 370 km from Cairo, the closest of the five western oases, and it serves as a staging post for reaching the others.

Understand
Bahariyya's main fertile strip, centred on the town of Bawiti, is about 90 km long by 40 km wide. This is separated from the secondary oasis of El Heiz by a strip of scenic Black Desert, while further south lies the even more dramatic White Desert. Near Bawiti, the Valley of the Golden Mummies has revealed hundreds of burials with gilded face masks, and thousands more probably remain to be excavated. Large dinosaur bones have also been discovered, such as the fearsome Bahariasaurus, thought to be a type of allosaurus.

Bahariyya does not have an airport and never quite gained a railway. In 1916 a British narrow-gauge military railway was built at remarkable speed from the Nile valley towards Bahariyya, to counter-attack Senussi troops from Libya who'd occupied the western oases. It had to stop short at the sand dunes of Abu-Muharriq (more poetically known to the Brits as Blockhouse 6), whence camels took supplies the last 50 km onwards. The Senussi retreated as swiftly as the railway advanced so it achieved its strategic goal. After 1919 it did not have a military use nor (unlike the similar line built to Kharga) a commercial use. So, it fell into decay.

Bahariyya has a hot desert climate, 40 °C and above in summer and 10 °C in winter, and almost zero rainfall. Like the other oases, all the area's supply is “fossil water” from the bedrock aquifer, a non-renewable resource.

By bus


From specific destinations:
 * Cairo – Upper Egypt Buses run 3 or 4 times a day from Cairo Turgoman Square. 350 km/6 hr (including a rest break) to Bawiti in Bahariyya. LE100. Some buses continue to Farafra Oasis—these formerly continued to Dakhla Oasis, but it is not known if this link is still running in 2020.
 * Farafra Oasis – Likewise the bus to Cairo starts in Farafra.

By road
The road to Bahariyya is asphalt and suitable for standard vehicles. Especially with a group, it may work out better to hire a microbus or taxi privately. You will find them around the bus station.

A dirt track goes west from Bahariyya to Siwa. It is being upgraded to asphalt and buses used to run this way. The road is closed in 2019 by the military, or least foreigners are not allowed to go that way.

Get around
The sights are strung out along the highway and you need a vehicle to reach them. A standard car will do for all except the White Desert, where you need 4WD to explore the dirt tracks. These are well-pisted and signed so you don't need expedition-grade vehicles or skills provided you stick to the tracks.

See

 * Bawiti has three mosques—all central:
 * the Friday Mosque
 * the modern el-Mutawi Mosque, and
 * el-Bawiti Mosque with the tomb of the town's founder Sheikh el-Bawiti.


 * Ain el-Hubaga – Opposite the museum is the start of an ancient aqueduct system that remained in use into the 20th century.
 * Ain el-Hubaga – Opposite the museum is the start of an ancient aqueduct system that remained in use into the 20th century.


 * Several other sites in Bawiti remain closed. As of 2020 these include the Ibis Galleries, the Temple of Hercules and the Hill of Sheikh Subi.

Do

 * Hot springs – Several springs bubble out of the ground at 40°C and above, laden with minerals. So, you might expect a major spa industry here, but there is not one. Springs you can visit yourself are clustered northeast of Bawiti:
 * Biʾr Ramla ("sand spring") – 2 km away
 * Biʾr en-Naqba ("pierced spring") – 3 km away
 * the sulphurous Biʾr el-Maṭar ("airfield spring") – 7 km away
 * Biʾr el-Ghaba ("forest spring") – 11 km away, and
 * Biʾr es-Sīqām – 1 km east of Mandisha.


 * Dig deeper into Egyptian history. The sights mentioned on this page might interest any tourist, but there's much more for archaeologists to explore. The German description of Bahariyya (on sidebar left) runs to 32 pages of documentation.
 * Big expeditions – Any out-of-town excursion gets marketed as a "safari", accurately enough since that is just the Arabic word for a journey. And it gets labelled an "expedition" if it drives out of sight of the main highway for long enough to spread a rug on the ground and serve coffee - again accurately, if it is properly prepared for all that might befall amidst axle-busting rocks and no mobile signal. But Bahariyya is also the usual departure point for full-on expeditions, for instance to Gilf el-Kebir, the remote southwest corner of Egypt bordering Libya and Sudan. These last 2-3 weeks and need to be very robust and self-sufficient, led by people who know the terrain and techniques. Glamping they're not.

Buy

 * Bawiti has a scattering of little grocery stores, the largest is Abu Ala on main street, open 24/7.

Eat
Almost all the eating places are on the main road through town, but Oasis restaurant and coffee shop (open 24 hours) is on the southern bypass.
 * Bakar is the most convenient for east side of town, open daily 5PM–midnight.
 * Cafe Ouled Rached central on main street does enjoyable food. Open 24/7.
 * Baraka is west of centre where the roads fork for Siwa and Farafra. Open 24/7.
 * Abu Helmy is a little further along the Siwa road, and the most convenient for Qasr neighbourhood. Open 24/7.

Drink

 * Mint tea is always a good choice in these regions.

Sleep

 * All the hotels offer excursions or safaris into the desert, so it should not be beyond them to offer you a pick-up from the bus stop.

Stay safe
See the warning on the Egypt article for information on the security situation in the region.

Go next

 * Siwa – The next oasis west—a long way west. From there you can reach the Med coast at Marsa Matruh.
 * Farafra – The next oasis south, about a 90-min drive. The main sight is White Desert, which you can easily reach from Bahariyya.
 * Dakhla Oasis – If you can find transport onward from Farafra.
 * Kharga Oasis – You can loop through from Dakhla and back to the Nile valley at Asyut.
 * Cairo – Or just go back.