Egypt Bike and Sail - Pre or Post Trip Extension
Sahara in Style!

Day 1: Tabuna Camp

Depart from Hotel / Cruise after Breakfast - Arrive in Tabuna Camp

The drive from Luxor to the camp site in the oasis of Kharga will take 4 hours and will take you straight through the vast desert expanding beyond the river banks of the Nile.
Once we reach the camp, you will have time to check-in, refresh yourself and enjoy the lunch served at the camp.

You will explore the desert and take a Camel ride to Kysis. As the camp is located close to the site of Kysis you will be transported to the sites by camel, introducing you to the way ancient Egyptians used to travel.

• Kysis was built in the 1st century AD, and dedicated to the gods Isis and Serapis. It has since 1967 been beautifully restored, and it also has a great location. It overlooks the all of the eastern valley below former Kysis. There are two hypostyle halls, both with entrances in near perfect condition. Most columns have been knocked down, but large pieces lie around. Note that the eastern side seems to have been without a wall, as allowing the fertile lands below to have been visible during ceremonies.

You will be brought back to the camp and have dinner.

After dinner, you can enjoy the relaxing and peaceful atmosphere of the Tabuna Camp. Enjoy a typical cup of tea, smoke a water pipe, marvel at the beauty of the stars and the quiteness of the desert.

Day 2:

Have a big breakfast as you have a full day ahead of you.

Enjoy the drive towards the area of Labaka, where we will leave the road and enter the desert by 4x4 to explore the beauty of the vast desert and all the interesting remains of past centuries.

You will enjoy a typical "Bedouin Style" desert lunch while visiting exciting places like the "Temple of the North",the sanctuary of Piyris, Qasr el-Labaka and the famous Qasr Umm el-Dadaadib.

• Ain Umm Dabadib is the site of Kharga that requires the most effort to reach, crossing sand dunes. The former town here owed its wealth to being one of the last staging posts before the caravans headed north. Its history goes back to Roman times, and remains of temples from this period still stand. There are also ruins of churches outside the fortress walls. The original water systems and irrigation systems helped use the limited water resources. An underground aqueduct system is still visible. It used to run for 15 km, and some of it still in use by local farmers. The original Ain Umm Dabadib was large, perhaps more than 200 square km.
• Qasr El-Labeka was built by the Romans, yet largely implementing traditional building techniques. It was on the old caravan routes, and in its heyday the surrounding area was green and with water. Water was carried by an aqueduct that still stand, but which is silted up. It lies along a seasonal river (wadi) on an escarpment. The outer walls are 12 meters high and quite imposing. The location for this and the Ain Umm Dabadib is both part of the attraction and the reason why so few venture out here. The journey goes across real desert, and is only done by 4x4.

After an amazing desert experience you will return back to the Tabuna Camp for dinner

Day 3:

Before heading out and exploring the surroundings of Kharga and the city itself, enjoy a fresh and delicious breakfast in the restaurant or in your tents.

Visit Temple of Hibis, Bagawat, Nadura, Qasr el Zayan & El Ghweita

• Qasr el Zayan the temple was built dedicated to the god Amenebis, the local town god. It was built during the Ptolemaic period and restored under the Roman emperor Antoniunus. The local town here was known as Tchnonemyris which flourished for several centuries.
• El Ghweita was built between 250 and 80 BC. It was dedicated to the Theban triad Amon, Mut and Khonsu.
• Hibis Temple named after the town that once existed here. It is by far the largest and finest of the temples of Egypt's 200 years under Persian rulers. It was King Darius (6th century BC) who ordered to build it, and dedicated it to Amon. The temple was adorned by rulers over the following centuries, but the original style was always respected. Today it is not available for closer inspection, as the main structure is swathed in scaffolding.
• Temple of Nadura is about 700 years younger than the one at Hibis, and belongs to the 2nd century AD and was built under Roman rulers. It is generally attributed to the god Amon, but the few remains of wall decorations represent musicians playing on percussion instruments and sistra. This indicates that a goddess was worshipped here. Near the temple, a semi-troglodyte village lies. The inhabitants built a mud-brick houses, with cellars largely underground. The purpose of this sort of structure, found all over North Africa, was to escape the worst heat in summer time.
• Bagawat is a reminder of one of the most central battles of early Christianity; the dispute over the nature of Jesus. In the 5th century, bishop Nestorius was exiled to Bagawat for having claimed that only one of Jesus' natures had suffered on the cross; the earthly nature, not the divine. The large extent of the Necropolis of Bagawat is the result of this and his supporters' exile. The tombs here are believed to indicate that worship of the dead was continued in a Christian style. There are 263 mud-brick chapels climbing up a ridge, the oldest dating back two centuries before Nestorius, the last dating back to the 7th century.

You will be served a delicious lunch surrounded by history.

After having enjoyed the lunch break, we visit the town of Kharga:

The museum of Kharga has many artifacts that have been found in the surrounding desert of Kharga.

After the Museum you will have the opportunity to watch and buy some of the traditional hand made pottery of Kharga.

To get a better understanding of Kharga's history you will be shown a traditional folkloric dance different from many Egyptian dances.

After a long day you will be brought back to the camp and have dinner.

Day 4: Luxor, Egypt

Have breakfast and get ready to return to Luxor.
Return to Luxor