Kharga Oasis

What is Kharga?

Kharga is a long depression running north to south for well over 100 km, with the modern city of El-Kharga at its northern end and a chain of Persian, Ptolemaic and Roman temples and forts strung along its length. For thousands of years it was a staging post on the Darb el-Arbain, the "Forty Days Road" by which caravans brought goods and enslaved people from Darfur to the Nile Valley, and its fortresses guarded that trade.

El-Kharga itself is a modern, planned town and the administrative centre of the New Valley. It has a museum of finds from the oasis, the main hotels and the airport. The monuments, though, are what bring travellers: they are among the best preserved in any Egyptian oasis, and you will usually have them almost to yourself.

The Temple of Hibis

The Temple of Hibis, about 2 km north of town, is a sandstone temple to Amun begun in the 26th Dynasty and decorated largely under the Persian king Darius I in the late 6th century BC, which makes it one of very few major temples in Egypt from the period of Persian rule. It is dedicated to Amun of Hibis, a local form of the god; see our guide to Amun.

• The gates and hypostyle hall: a processional way leads through later Ptolemaic and Roman gateways to the columned hall.
• The reliefs: the walls are covered with hundreds of gods, many in local forms rarely seen elsewhere. One much-photographed scene shows a winged deity spearing a serpent, often compared with later images of St George.
• Inscriptions: Roman decrees carved on the gateway record the administration of the oasis.

The temple has been through a long restoration because of rising groundwater; check whether all areas are open. Allow about an hour.

The Bagawat necropolis

Bagawat, on a low ridge about 1 km north of Hibis, is a cemetery of some 260 mud-brick chapels used by Christians from about the 3rd to the 7th century AD, and its painted domes are among the earliest Christian art in Egypt. From a distance the domed chapels look like a small town; up close many are plain, but a few preserve vivid paintings.

• Chapel of the Exodus: a dome painted with Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt, with Pharaoh's army in pursuit, as well as Noah's Ark, Jonah and other Old Testament scenes.
• Chapel of Peace: figures of Adam and Eve, Abraham and Isaac, Daniel, and personifications such as Peace and Justice, labelled in Greek.
• The setting: walk up the ridge behind the chapels for a view over the necropolis to the ruined monastery on the hill beyond and the green of the oasis.

Go in the early morning or late afternoon, when it is cooler on the open ridge, and allow 1–1.5 hours. For the wider background, our guide to Roman Egypt covers the period when Christianity spread through the oases.

Forts and temples further south

With a second day, drive south through the oasis to Qasr el-Ghueita and Qasr el-Zayyan, and if permitted to Dush at the southern end.

• Qasr el-Ghueita: a hilltop fortress around a temple to the Theban triad, with fine views over the desert, about 20 km south of town.
• Qasr el-Zayyan: a small Ptolemaic and Roman temple inside a mud-brick enclosure, a short drive further on.
• Dush: a Roman fortress and temple near Baris, where French archaeologists found a hoard of Roman gold jewellery in 1989; it is remote and may need extra permission.
• North of town: the Roman forts of Qasr el-Labeka and Ain Umm Dabadib, reached by 4WD, require permits and an experienced desert operator.

Hours and access at all of these change, so check egymonuments.gov.eg or confirm locally.

Getting there

Most visitors reach Kharga by road from Assiut on the Nile, about 230 km or 3–4 hours, or by continuing east from Dakhla, about 190 km away. A desert road also links the oasis towards Luxor, but whether foreign visitors may use it depends on current security arrangements. Kharga has an airport with occasional flights from Cairo; check schedules well before you travel.

Kharga is usually the last or first stop on a loop of the Western Desert oases, combined with Dakhla, Farafra, the White Desert and Bahariya. Travelling from Assiut also takes you through Middle Egypt, where its own travel arrangements apply.

Permits, escorts and travel advice

Expect police checkpoints on every road into Kharga, permits for remote sites and, at times, a police escort for foreign visitors; a licensed operator arranges what is needed for your dates. Keep your passport with you, and allow extra time, as escorts and checkpoint changes can slow travel.

Government travel advice for the Western Desert and the far south of the New Valley can differ markedly from the advice for Cairo and the Nile Valley. Read the latest from Smartraveller (Australia) or SafeTravel (New Zealand) before you book, and make sure your travel insurance covers the area.