The Black and White Desert

The Black and White Desert has to be one of the most surreal places in the world, and one of the most beautiful. The Black Desert features a blue-black rock layer that lies exposed beneath the sands, and the eerie limestone formations of the White Desert were formed by wind erosion on the chalky deposits that litter the area—the Sahara Desert was once completely underwater, and millions of tiny shells accumulated over thousands of years to form the limestone that highlights the landscape today.
I’d advise you to eat before entering this area, as the Black Desert evokes piles of vanilla ice cream piled high with Oreo crumbs.



Our first stop was Crystal Mountain, a mountain made entirely of quartz crystal.












Camping out next to Jacob's Fire (don't push him in)








The beauty of this area also has not gone unnoticed by the Bollywood film industry. One of the most famous Bollywood films, Kabhi Khushie Kabhi Gham (कभी खूशी कभी घम) features a song where the characters are magically transported to the Pyramids and the Black and White Desert. (I believe this is purely for aesthetic purposes.)






The Camel


Jabba's Palace


The Fish




The Chicken and the Mushroom


The Rabbit


The Small Mushroom


Muhammad




Really amazing scenery. Our jeep drivers, Muhammad and Ayman, drove us around three government checkpoints to keep us from having to pay the 40 LE fee. On the way back, we did the same thing by making a hard left off of the main road into the desert.
But one of the jeeps got stuck in the sand, only 500 feet from the government outpost. Our drivers freaked out, the only time we saw them remotely stressed. Through a combination of pulling, pushing, tying rope to the bottom of the car, and shifting gears, they eventually got it out and we piled in, zipping through the desert sands, before the government cars had a chance to come after us.



Finally, we climbed one of the Black Desert mountains. If you’ve ever been to Sunset Crater in Arizona, it’s a very similar climb. Merciless and steep, but with a great view at the top.