Western Desert
Regions & Cities
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Siwa Oasis
Palm groves and salt flats circle mud-brick Siwa, where the Temple of the Oracle and Cleopatra’s spring draw history-minded visitors.
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Farafra
At the edge of the Western Desert, Farafra serves as the jumping-off point for the White Desert’s chalk formations.
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el-Kharga Town
An oasis town at the edge of Egypt’s Western Desert, Kharga offers palm groves, date markets and the Hibis Temple’s painted reliefs.
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Marsa Matrouh
On Egypt’s Mediterranean rim, Marsa Matrouh draws beachgoers to bays like Cleopatra’s Bath and Rommel’s Bay, seaside corniche cafés, pale sand coves and simple fish restaurants where locals eat after a morning’s swim.
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El Alamein
War cemeteries, battlefield markers, and a compact military museum mark El Alamein.
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White Desert
Egypt’s White Desert National Park contains wind-sculpted chalk formations and mushroom-like rocks; tourists arrange overnight desert camps and photography excursions from Farafra or Bahariya oases.
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Gilf Kebir
A remote sandstone plateau in Egypt’s southwest desert, noted for prehistoric rock art such as the Cave of Swimmers; accessed by organized desert expeditions and of interest to archaeologists and trekkers.
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Al-Khārijah
On the edge of Egypt’s Western Desert, Al-Khārijah serves as a gateway to Kharga Oasis and scattered Roman ruins.
Top Cities in Western Desert
Western Desert at a Glance
Local Time
2:14 AM
GMT+2
Population
666,871
Best Things to Do in Western Desert
National Park
White Desert
Sahara area with surreal chalk rock formations
Monument
KV1
Tomb in Egypt's Valley of the Kings
Plateau
Gilf Kebir
Remote sandstone plateau in southwestern Egypt's desert
Monument
KV3
Unfinished Valley of the Kings tomb, likely royal
Archaeological Site
Nabta Playa
Prehistoric ceremonial stone sites in Egypt's Nubian Desert
Monument
KV4
Unfinished tomb in the Valley of the Kings
Monument
KV63
Funerary chamber near Tutankhamun's tomb containing burial goods
Archaeological Site
KV10
Royal tomb in Egypt's Valley of the Kings
Lake
Toshka Lakes
Large artificial lakes in Egypt from Nile diversion project
Cave
Cave of Swimmers
Rock-art cave in the Sahara containing prehistoric swimmer paintings
Temple
Temple of Hibis
Well-preserved Ptolemaic temple in Kharga Oasis
Hill
Abu Ballas
Remote desert route and sandstone formation in Western Desert