Photo : Viktor Lazić — CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
The oases and the Western Desert · Farafra road
Crystal Mountain
A calcite outcrop beside the Farafra road: a rock arch, and crystal splinters all over the ground.
The tarred road between Bahariya and Farafra runs past an outcrop of white calcite pushed up out of the plateau limestone: mineral-laden water filled the fissures of the rock, and the wind has since stripped away everything but what crystallised inside them. What is left amounts to a low mound, a rock arch you walk through in three paces, and a floor of translucent splinters that catch the light. Drivers in the area will tell you that cutting the road took away part of the outcrop. The place is a fifteen-minute stop on the way to the White Desert, not a day out in itself.
The extra bit
Stop when the sun is low, early on the way south to Farafra or late in the afternoon: overhead light leaves the calcite flat and white, while a low sun sets it alight. The Black Desert is on the same road a little to the north — ask your driver for both stops before you set off, or he will drive straight past.
Know before you go
No visible ticket window, no shade, no water, nothing to buy: everything comes with you from the oasis. The tarmac is a through road and lorries travel it fast, so pull well clear of the edge and keep children on the desert side. The ground is all sharp edges, so wear closed shoes, and crystal fragments stay where they lie — picking them up is what has stripped the foot of the arch over the years. Scheduled coaches do not stop here: you come in a private vehicle or on an organised trip out of Bahariya or Farafra.
