Welcome to a very special part of the world and a unique Desert experience like no other. Join us for Desert trekking and camel adventures guided by the local desert tribes of Southern Egypt.
Location
Wadi El Gemal National Park is located between the southern Red Sea Coast and the Nile. It covers an area of around 7000 square kilometres. Not only a land park it takes in the offshore islands and coastline in the area.
Wadi el Gemal, meaning Valley of the Camels, is considered to be the most beautiful valley in the region with abundant vegetation, wildlife, ancient temples and mines. The valley was an important Pharaonic caravan route linking the Red Sea and the Nile we can follow in the footsteps of the ancient Egyptians as we explore this wonderful area.
Base Camp
An Eco project started to help the local inhabitants of the park our base camp is Fustat Wadi el Gemal - is the first tented camp to be located in one of Egypt’s National Parks. True to its name "Fustat" or "Tented Camp", the whole setup consists of white tents, restaurant, kitchens and bathrooms. Run by famous desert explorer Walid Ramadam you are made welcome and all your needs are looked after.
Your Hosts and guides
The indigenous inhabitants of Wadi el Gemal are called the “Ababda” tribes. They constitute one of four branches of the Beja tribes, used as soldiers for the Pharaohs, known historically as the Blemmyes who were in constant war with the Romans. The Ababda now speak a dialect of Arabic, but their original language known as “To Bedawie” has been stipulated to be related linguistically to ancient Egyptian.
The Ababda are nomadic pastoralists, who graze their herds on the vegetation found in the wadi. They build huts called “birsh” out of tree branches and cover them with matting made from dom palm fiber. They live mainly on milk and dhurra, the latter eaten raw or roasted. They are very superstitious and are indifferent toward material thing
s. They have a deep respect for nature, are self-sufficient, hospitable and
have great tribal solidarity.
>
.jpg)
