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Gilf el
Kibir
Expeditions
II
Sand
Planet (13 days)
West
of the Aqaba the high cliffs continue for over 200
kilometres north-west. About 50 kilometres
west of the pass, a small rocky promontory with a spectacular scenery juts
out of the cliffs.
Apparently ancient humans thought likewise, as the promontory with its
maze of rock islands and
wadis is one of the most important rock art sites in the region, Wadi
Sora.
The north-western half of the Gilf dips northwards. The plateau top is
perfecly flat, but the whole
plateau is much dissected by major wadis and their tributaries, which all
drain to the north. These
wadis were first seen from the air during the 1932 Almásy - Clayton
expedition, and Almásy made
a strong case for their identification with the mythical lost oasis of
Zarzura.
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1st
day :
Drive toward the great White desert on the way we will visit
Bahareya
Oasis.
O/N in the White Desert Camp. |
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2nd day :
Drive to reach Dakhla Oasis, visit
El Mozawaka and
El Qasr
(Old
Islamic Town). O/N hotel.
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3rd day :
Drive from Dakhla to
Abu Balas. O/N in camp.
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4th day :
Drive to El Gilf Plateau . O/N in camp. The
Gilf Plateau
apparently acts
as a large reservoir after rains, as two permanent springs, Ain Ghazal
and Ain Doua can be found at the southern foot of the mountain. Since
the base of the mountain is well above the permanent aquifier, the
source of the water can only be rain, however they never went dry in
living memory.
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5th day :
Enjoying El Gilf Plateau, drive to
Aqabba pass. O/N camp in
Aqabba.
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6th day :
Drive from Aqabbat to Wadi Soura. West of
the Aqaba the high cliffs
continue for over 200 kilometres north-west. About 50 kilometres west
of the pass, a small rocky promontory with a spectacular scenery juts
out of the cliffs. Apparently ancient humans thought likewise, as the
promontory with its maze of rock islands and wadis is one of the most
important rock art sites in the region, Wadi Sora. Visit
the
Wadi, the
real
Cave of Swimmers. Overnight Camp.
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7th day :
Enjoying El Gilf El Kebir Plateau. O/N camp at
Kamal El Din.
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8th
day :
Drive to Karkur Talh at El Uweinat Mountain. Jebel
Uweinat is the
most formidable mountain in the genarally flat and featureless Libyan
Desert. Situated roughly at the centre of the aridest area, it stands out
like an island from the surrounding plain. It's height is sufficient to
capture a little precipitation from the summer monsoon clouds of the
sahel belt that occasionally reach this far north. These rains are very
infrequent, the last one was recorded in september 1998, and probably
as much as 10-15 years may pass without rain. However even this little
rain is sufficient to allow some vegetation and wildlife in
the larger
valleys.
Karkur Talh is
the largest valley of the mountain. It's mouth,
marked by two acacias visible for many kilometers, opens onto the
broad sand plain flanking the mountain on the north east side. From
the narrow mouth choked with sand dunes, the valley winds for some
25 kms towards the base of the sandstone plateau forming the highest
part of Jebel Uweinat. Except for a few kilometers in the beginning,
most of it lies within Sudan. Visit
Karkur el Talh. O/N camp at Karkur
Talh.
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enlarge photo |
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9th day :
Continue our way East to Bir Sahara. O/N camp at G. Kamil. |
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10th day :
Drive continues to the
Sand Planet. O/N camp at Sand Planet.
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11th day :
Drive to reach Bir Tarafawy. O/N camp. |
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12th day :
Morning, we will reach Paris Oasis, visit the temple of Hibis and
El
Bagawat. O/N at El Kharga Oasis . |
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13th day :
Drive Luxor or Cairo according to your next destination.
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