Siwa Oasis — A Serene Paradise in the Desert
Scenes like this abound in Siwa — welcome to a desert oasis paradise.
When traveling in Egypt, it can be easy to stick to the big cities and be wowed by all of the hustle and bustle: the crazy traffic in Cairo, the throngs of people walking along the sea in Alexandria, the countless folks you will meet in Luxor offering you everything from a horse carriage ride to a guided tour.
But do you want to step outside of Egypt’s cities and get away from it all? Do you want to experience the serenity of a desert oasis, complete with pristine salt pools, hot and cold springs, groves of date trees, biking paths in the desert, and still many ancient historical sites to take in?
If you are willing to sit on a bus for 11 hours to make the journey from Cairo (just 8 hours by bus from Alexandria), then put Siwa Oasis on your list. Siwa has all of the above and boasts the most calm and relaxed atmosphere in all of Egypt. Siwa is even more laid-back than Dahab, an Egyptian city on the Red Sea famous for lounging on the beach without a care in the world. Here are some Siwa highlights we have experienced at Egypt Adventures Travel that we would love to share with you.
One of many salt pools you can take a dip in.
Salt Pools
Just a 20 minute drive out of the Siwan city center, you will find yourself surrounded by fields of, strangely enough, salt. Salt, along with dates and olive oil, is one of the main products Siwa exports. Among the salt fields are some Instagram-worthy pools of saltwater that have such a high salinity that you can’t help but float after you jump in. It is surreal to be floating around in a gorgeous body of water that seems to be an impossible shade of blue-green, with enormous salt crystals and desert surrounding you. There probably can be some argument made about a salty soak being good for your skin, too!
Biking
Siwa is a world away from the traffic and noise of Egyptian cities, and renting a bike is a great way to get around the oasis to either sightsee or just enjoy a calming ride. Some great places to bike to are:
-Gebel el-Mawta (mountain of the dead):
This hill has many tombs dating from pharaonic times, and also gives a great view of the rest of the oasis.
-Temple of the Oracle:
Siwa used to be famous for the Oracle who could be visited at this temple, now in ruins. Want to visit somewhere where Alexander the Great once was? Here is your spot!
Temple of the Oracle — it might be in ruins, but it still is awesome to imagine Alexander the Great being told that he will topple the then all-powerful Persian Empire in the 4th Century BCE.
-Cleopatra’s bath:
Right along a major bike path leading through groves of date trees, a giant, circular pool of freshwater sits waiting for you to jump in. Cleopatra’s bath is surrounded by several relaxing cafes where you can enjoy a small bite to eat and grab a drink in between dips in the cold spring.
Desert safaris
Taking a 4x4 and going off-road on a desert adventure can be done in several places in Egypt, but in Siwa, the experience is especially rewarding. Siwa is only 25 miles away from the Libyan border, and here the desert seems endless. Your Siwan driver and guide will be able to navigate through the identical sand dunes to take you places where you can sandboard, enjoy a fire, jump in a hot spring, or even spend the night sleeping under the stars.
Ecolodges
One of the best parts of Siwa is disconnecting from everything and enjoying the quiet, slow-paced, and peaceful life at a desert oasis. Ecolodges abound in Siwa and offer environmentally sustainable accommodation at a relaxed pace.
Want to organize a yoga retreat? An ecolodge can help with that. Need to get away and have some peace and quiet to finish the book or project you are working on? An ecolodge can provide all the calm, isolation, and distraction-free environment that you need. Want to travel in a more responsible way? There are many ecolodges that do not use electricity, serve only locally-sourced food, and are zero-waste.
This is the wonderful ecolodge called Siwa Relax Resort. It’s location right on Siwa Lake gives it an amazing view.
This blog post gives just a glimpse of what Siwa has to offer. We hope to help add a trip to Siwa to your Egypt Adventure so you can experience this breathtaking oasis for yourself.
What sounds awesome to you about Siwa Oasis? What questions do you have about traveling to Siwa, where to stay there, where to eat there, or what to do? Leave us a comment--we’d love to hear from you!