Farafra Things to Do

The best thing to do is to take your time, when you visit the White Desert. So make a cameltrip for a few days instead of a stay of one night.

In 1999 we stayed only for one night in this surrealist landscape. In 2000 we came back and did a three days cameltrip.

In more days you can visit a larger part of the desert in a slow way. And it's fun to ride a camel, especially to sleep close to the camels in the night. I love those fascinating animals.

The northern part of the White desert is different with higher rocks and nice sanddunes in between.
We were happy that we don't had to climb too much the dunes at the third and last day of our trip.
At the end the trip was rather exhausting for the camels and for the walkers.

Best thing to do:
Take your time in the White Desert, make a cameltrip for a few days instead of a stay of one night.
In 1999 we stayed for one night, in 2000 we came back for a three days cameltrip.
In more days you can experience a larger part of the desert in a slow way.
And it's fun to ride a camel an sleep next to camels in the night. I love those fascinating animals.

If you have the change, stay overnight in the With Desert in your thousans stars hotel..
The formations look wonderfull in the moonlight. And the sunrise is unforgettable in your most spacious bedroom ever.
And even not to mention the thousands bright stars during the night.

The most special of the white desert are the white sculptural forms, naturally shaped by wind erosion. The lime stone is soft and fragile.
At sunset or sunrise the forms are even more beautifull by changing colours.

At some places the White Desert is really looking as a white snow landscape.
The temperature is a bit different...
If you will experience the many different faces of this desert, go for a walk of some hours, best early in the morning.

Badr (or Badr Abdel Moghny Aly) is an talented and self-educated artist, born in 1958 in Farafra. He built a traditional house, that serves as his gallery, with a desert garden around for his large size sculptures.
Badr uses natural materials of the oasis. He had some exhibitions in Germany, France, England and Cairo. I saw also some of his sand paintings of characters that live in the oasis, in hotels elsewhere in the country.
I like especially his expressive free objects and sculptures of natural materials.

If you have more time, you can also explore the northern part of the White Desert at the edge of the mountains.
If you don't like to ride a camel for a full day or at all, you can easy walk.