Gilf Kebir

The Gilf Kebir is a sandstone plateau roughly the size of a small country in the far south-west corner of Egypt, cut by wadis and standing several hundred metres above the surrounding desert, and it is one of the most remote places in the world that anybody deliberately travels to. Its interest is prehistoric: rock art in the wadis and shelters, painted and engraved, from a period several thousand years ago when the Sahara was wet enough for cattle herding, showing herds, hunters and human figures. The best known is the Cave of Swimmers in Wadi Sura, found by Almasy in 1933 and later used in The English Patient, with small figures that appear to be swimming. The nearby Cave of Beasts holds a far larger painted panel found in 2002.

What you actually see

• The Cave of Swimmers - small figures that appear to swim, found in 1933.
• The Cave of Beasts - a much larger painted panel found in 2002.
• Wadi rock engravings - cattle herds from a wetter Sahara.
• The plateau itself - sandstone cliffs and wadis in absolute isolation.

When to go

November to February only. Ten days to two weeks for the round trip from Dakhla. Permits and military clearance are required and take months to arrange; trips are cancelled when the border region is closed.

Honest expectations

This is among the most demanding trips available in Egypt: a week of driving each way, everything carried, no rescue. Permits are often refused and the area closes for long periods. The rock art has suffered from visitor damage. Costs are very high and departures are few.

Nearby

Dakhla is the staging oasis; the Great Sand Sea lies north.