Explore Egypt

The melting mudbrick citadel at Siwa's heart, a 13th-century labyrinth of kershef walls best climbed at sunset.

The 6th-century-BC temple whose oracle famously declared Alexander the Great a living god and son of Amun.

A circular stone natural spring where warm, mineral-rich water bubbles up — Siwa's classic refreshing swim.

A 4x4 plunge into towering dunes for sandboarding, a hot spring dip and the Sahara's most spectacular sunset.

Surreal, electric-turquoise salt pools where the dense brine lets you float effortlessly amid blinding white crystal.

A palm-cloaked spit on Lake Siwa reached by causeway, the town's beloved spot for a date-palm-framed sunset.

A conical hill honeycombed with Greco-Roman rock tombs, several still bearing vivid painted ceilings.

A magical off-grid eco-lodge of hand-built kershef rooms lit only by candlelight beneath the White Mountain.

Siwa's oldest eatery on the central square, a backpacker landmark for tagines, pizzas and date-stuffed everything.

Shop the oasis's famous embroidered Amazigh textiles, silver Berber jewellery and the legendary sweet Siwi dates.

The heritage restaurant built into the Shali fortress itself — Siwan dishes on a lantern-lit rooftop over the old town.