Four-wheel-drive safari vehicles among the golden dunes near Siwa.

Activities in Siwa

Make time
for Siwa.

Salt pools, desert horizons and ancient stories. Discover the oasis beyond the lodge.

Beyond the lodge

An oasis of
possibilities.

Step beyond the lodge for turquoise salt pools, sweeping dunes and the ancient places that make Siwa so distinctive. Choose a little adventure, a little history, or a slow afternoon among the palms.

Turquoise salt pool edged by pale salt and rock near Aghurmi in Siwa.

Salt & water

Siwa’s turquoise salt pools

Bright blue water meets white salt crystals in the pools around Siwa’s salt-mining area. The highly saline water makes floating a distinctive part of the visit, while the surrounding salt landscape is just as striking from the shore.

Desert adventure

The Great Sand Sea by 4×4

Beyond the palms, the Great Sand Sea opens into sweeping dunes and wide desert horizons. Head out with an experienced local guide in a 4×4, and ask about adding sandboarding or a stop to watch the evening light move across the sand.

Aerial view of Cleopatra Spring, a round stone-lined pool surrounded by palms.

Oasis life

A pause at Cleopatra’s Spring

One of Siwa’s best-known natural springs, Cleopatra’s Spring offers a refreshing pause between visits to the oasis’s ancient sites. Its royal name comes with a local legend: Cleopatra is said to have bathed here, although her visit is not established history.

Rock-cut tomb entrances on the Mountain of the Dead above Siwa.

Ancient history

The painted tombs of Gebel al-Mawta

Known as the Mountain of the Dead, Gebel al-Mawta holds tombs from ancient Egypt’s Late Period and the later Greek and Roman eras. Surviving decoration, including scenes in the Tomb of Si Amun, offers a close look at the beliefs and artistry of the people who once lived in the oasis.

The earthen ruins of Shali Fortress rising above the old town of Siwa.

Siwan heritage

Shali, Siwa’s old fortress town

At the heart of Siwa, Shali’s narrow passages wind through the remains of the old fortified town. Its distinctive buildings were made with local salt and earth, giving the ruins their close connection to the landscape. Walk through its restored lanes and look out across the modern town and surrounding oasis.

Sunset over the lake at Fatnas Island, framed by a palm frond.

The slow end to a day

Sunset at Fatnas Island

With palms beside the waters of Birket Siwa, Fatnas is a gentle place to end a day of exploring. Settle into a lakeside café for tea and dates, and watch the colours change as the sun drops towards the desert.

Explore more with the Egyptian Tourism Authority and Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

Photo credits

Photographs from Wikimedia Commons, resized and converted to WebP. Display crops vary with screen size. Each photograph and its resized versions retain the licence linked below.

Siwa’s turquoise salt pools — Marsupium; CC BY 4.0.
The Great Sand Sea by 4×4 — Hesham Farouk Ragab; CC BY-SA 4.0.
A pause at Cleopatra’s Spring — Ahmed Emad Hamdy; CC BY-SA 4.0.
The painted tombs of Gebel al-Mawta — Kevin Gabbert; Public domain.
Shali, Siwa’s old fortress town — AmiraAdel93; CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sunset at Fatnas Island — Alyanumbers; CC BY-SA 4.0.

Lodge photographs: Siwa Salt Lake Lodge.

Make room for the oasis.

Plan a few days between the lake, the lodge and Siwa’s architecture.

Make timefor Siwa.

An oasis ofpossibilities.