Recommended flight

EgyptAir: 4.00 pm Paris Charles de Gaulle – 8.20 pm Cairo

(Flight MS800 – Direct flight, duration: 4 hours 20 minutes)

Transfer to the hotel and dinner.

Overnight at the hotel.

Transfer from your hotel in Cairo to the airport, where a privately chartered aircraft awaits to take you to Siwa.

Gradually, the city and the fertile Nile Valley disappear beneath you, giving way to the seemingly boundless Western Desert. As Siwa draws closer, the first palm groves, stretches of water and limestone formations surrounding the oasis emerge from the arid landscape.

Upon arrival, you will be welcomed and transferred to Adrère Amellal, situated at the foot of the White Mountain, overlooking Lake Siwa.

After settling into your rooms, there will be time to discover this extraordinary retreat. There are no televisions, no air conditioning and no conventional electric lighting in the bedrooms. The salt-and-earth architecture naturally regulates the temperature, while, after nightfall, hundreds of candles and lamps illuminate the property.

Dinner at Adrère Amellal.

The first evening has deliberately been left without a programme, allowing you simply to absorb the stillness of Siwa and watch the moon rise above the oasis.

After breakfast, you will set out to explore the Mountain of the Dead – Gebel al-Mawta, a limestone hill overlooking the oasis, its slopes honeycombed with ancient burial chambers. Some still preserve decorative paintings that bear witness to the remarkable cultural exchanges that shaped Siwa, at the crossroads of the Egyptian, Libyan and Greco-Roman worlds.

Your next visit will be to Shali, Siwa’s ancient fortified town. Built from the thirteenth century onwards using kershef, the traditional mixture of clay and salt, it once formed an extraordinary vertical labyrinth of houses, passageways and narrow streets. From its upper reaches, magnificent views unfold across the modern town, palm groves and lakes of the oasis.

Return to Adrère Amellal for lunch.

The afternoon will be devoted to some of Siwa’s most emblematic sites.

Your first stop will be the celebrated Cleopatra’s Spring, a natural pool surrounded by palm trees and small gardens, creating a setting of almost timeless beauty. Despite its evocative name, there is no historical evidence that the Egyptian queen ever bathed here. The legend, however, remains part of its enduring appeal.

You will then discover the remains of the Temple of Amun at Umm Ubaydah, before continuing to the day’s most significant archaeological site: the Temple of the Oracle, perched upon the rocky outcrop of Aghurmi.

Since antiquity, pilgrims and rulers had travelled considerable distances to seek the counsel of the Oracle of Amun. It was here, in 331 BC, that Alexander the Great arrived after a desert crossing that would itself become legendary. What the oracle revealed to him remains uncertain, although ancient accounts suggest that Alexander was associated with Amun and that his claim to divine authority was strengthened.

More than two thousand years later, the sanctuary retains an air of mystery: a solitary temple overlooking the palm groves, at the heart of an oasis surrounded by the immensity of the desert.

Return to Adrère Amellal for dinner.

After breakfast, an entirely different landscape awaits as you discover Siwa’s extraordinary salt lakes and pools.

Salt extraction has transformed parts of the oasis into a succession of pools of almost unreal beauty, their waters ranging from turquoise to deep blue, framed by dazzling white salt formations. Their exceptionally high salt concentration allows bathers to float almost effortlessly, making for an experience as surprising as it is visually striking.

There will be time to swim before returning to Adrère Amellal.

Lunch at the lodge, followed by a few hours at leisure.

In the late afternoon, you will set off towards the Great Sand Sea.

Gradually, the palm groves recede, giving way to one of the Sahara’s most spectacular landscapes: immense waves of sand dunes stretching towards the horizon.

You will reach a carefully selected location in the desert to watch the sunset. As the light softens, the sand shifts in colour, shadows lengthen and the contours of the dunes become almost abstract.

Then comes a moment we have particularly wished to share with you: the interval after the sun has disappeared, before darkness has fully settled, when the desert remains illuminated by the light of an almost full moon.

Return to Adrère Amellal for the evening

After three days of exploration, this day has deliberately been left entirely at leisure.

To stay at Adrère Amellal without allowing oneself the time to savour its atmosphere would be to miss an essential part of the Siwa experience.

You may wander through the gardens and palm groves, stroll along the lakeshore, read in the shade, settle on a terrace or simply watch the changing light upon the White Mountain.

Even the dining experience reflects this philosophy. Meals are prepared predominantly with local produce and served in different settings throughout the property, selected according to the time of day, the weather and the atmosphere.

Lunch at Adrère Amellal.

For those who wish, several optional experiences can be arranged:

• Horse riding through the landscapes of the oasis and along the edge of the desert;
• A massage, to complement a day devoted to rest and relaxation.

Equally, choosing to do nothing at all is an entirely valid pleasure.

As evening falls, Adrère Amellal will once again reveal its nocturnal character. Candles will be lit one by one, and your final evening may unfold beneath the skies of Siwa.

Dinner and final overnight stay at Adrère Amellal.

Breakfast and a final opportunity to enjoy Adrère Amellal.

Transfer to Siwa Airport for your privately chartered return flight to Cairo.

As the aircraft takes off, the palm groves, lakes and limestone formations of the oasis gradually disappear, giving way once again to the vast desert. Arrival in Cairo, bringing this extraordinary interlude in Siwa to a close.

Recommended flight

EgyptAir: 4.15 pm Cairo – 9.05 pm Paris Charles de Gaulle

(Flight MS801 – Direct flight, duration: 4 hours 50 minutes)

An oasis at the far reaches of the desert, a few days removed from the ordinary passage of time and, perhaps, a glimpse of why travellers have journeyed to Siwa for more than two thousand years in search of something they could find nowhere else.

Optional extension in Cairo, including a visit to the Grand Egyptian Museum, available upon request.