Farafra

Farafra (Farāfra, واحة الفرافرة) is an oasis in the Western Desert of Egypt about 200 km north-south and 90 km east-west including various satellite oases such as Abu Minqar.

Towns and villages

 * (Qasr el-Farafra, ‏مدينة الفرافرة) ‎– Largest town of the same name with the fortress and accommodation.
 * – The southernmost village of the oasis. It is 50 km south of Farafra town, but 70 km by the highway, winding over a barren ridge; there’s no accommodation but buses and taxis often take a rest-stop here. The “limestone mountain” is a striking formation seen from the edge of the village.
 * – A village 6 km south of Farafra town with an underground water channel and ancient rock tombs.

Understand
Farafra has few antiquities and the main reason to visit is White Desert National Park. It is also a staging post towards Dakhla Oasis, as it has been since ancient times.

Farafra has a hot desert climate, 40°C and beyond in summer and 10°C in winter, and zero rainfall. All the oasis supply is “fossil water” from the bedrock aquifer, a non-renewable resource.

By bus


From specific destinations:
 * Cairo – Upper Egypt Buses run at least daily from Cairo to Bawiti, the main village of Bahariya Oasis, taking 5 hr. From there, some of them fork west to Siwa Oasis, while others continue south to Farafra, another 3 hr. The bus fare is around LE100.

By taxi
A taxi between Farafra and Mut might be LE500. The old caravan route was 200 km, a four day haul&mdash;see Dakhla Oasis for why the modern highway swings away west to take 300 km.

Get around
The main fertile areas of the oasis are in the shape of a bird perching on the cable of the main highway, one wing curling north and the other west, with Farafra town at its feet. There is another fertile patch 30 km south, then the highway crosses a desert ridge to Abu Minqar.

The highway is tarmac but you need a 4WD vehicle to explore the White Desert, and a very robust off-road vehicle for expeditions further out. Beware that although the map shows a road east from Farafra via el Gara to the Nile valley, you can only drive as far as El Wahat&mdash;east of there is a rugged caravan trail.

See














Do






Eat & Drink
The hotels are your best bet.

Go next

 * Dakhla Oasis – Buses previously continued south from Farafra via Abu Minqar to Mut (which has buses to Kharga Oasis). It is not known if these are running in 2020.


 * Otherwise, lanes branch off to the various outlying stretches of farmland but with no through routes. There is only one through-highway, so (except by expedition) your choice is south to Dakhla Oasis or north to Bahariyya Oasis.