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Gilf el
Kibir
Expeditions
I
Gilf
Plateau ( 18 days )
The Gilf Kebir is split into
two halves by the "Gap", thus named by Clayton, who only
noticed the
substantially lower gap in the western cliffs as he made his one day
survey run in 1931.
Subsequently Penderel discovered from the air that the Gap continued in a
broad valley partially
filled with a dune field, the southernmost tongue of the
Great Sand Sea. Where the valley reaches
the western cliffs at it's southern end, a narrow winding sand filled wadi
descends to the plains
below. This is the Aqaba, a driveable pass first tackled by Almásy and
party in 1933.
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1st day
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Drive from Cairo to the White Desert passing
by Bahareya Oasis .
Overnight Camp in the White Desert . |
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2nd day :
Off
road to Dakhla camping at Kharafish
before
Dakhla.
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3rd day :
Arrival at Dakhla,
visit the Oasis of Dakhla. Visit El
Mozawaka and
El
Qasr (Old Islamic Town). Overnight hotel.
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4th day :
Drive off road to Abu Balas. Overnight camp. |
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5th day :
Camp before the 08 Pelts. |
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6th day :
The 08 pelts - Prince Kamal El Din.Overnight
Camp. |
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7th day :
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.
Overnight Camp
Aqabbat .
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8th day :
Wadi
Hamra, the easternmost valley, opens to
the Gap about 60
kilometres to the north of Aqaba. Near its head it supports a healthy
cluster of akacias, making it the greenest of the wadis. It received it's
name on account of the red sand filling it's bed near the vegetation
zone. Near it's centre section and close to it's head, three
rock art
sites
with engravings are possibly the oldest in the
region.
Overnight Camp.
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9th
day - 10 th day :
Wadi
Abd el Melik
is the largest wadi, and was the one originally
discovered from the air. Two 25-30 kilometre long branches merge and
continue for a further 100 kilometres to the north, finally opening on
the plain to the west of the Gilf. It is possible, that the two branches
were considered, together with Wadi Hamra, the "three valleys".
Wadi Abd el Melik was certainly the main oasis
valley in the Gilf, with
dense tree cover above the place where the two branches join. By now
however the majority of the trees are dead, and the valley is very dry.
It is strange contrast to the bright green vegetation of Wadi Hamra, a
mere 10 kilometres to the east of the eastern branch. Overnight Camp.
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enlarge photo |
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11th day :
Eish el Ghorab ( Mushroom ) .Overnight Camp. |
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12th day
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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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13th day :
Foggini cave.
Overnight Camp. |
enlarge photo |
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14th day :
Camping before Karkur el Talh. |
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15th day :
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. Overnight Camp.
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16th day :
Jebel
Uweinat is the most formidable mountain in the generally 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. Overnight Camp.
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enlarge photo |
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17th day :
Bir Tarafawy at Darb al Arbean.Overnight Camp. |
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18th day :
Abu Simbel - Aswan .
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