Tzila Camp Offers Bedouin Adventures in Wadi El Rayan

Located 148 km from Cairo in the southern half of Fayoum, the Wadi El Rayan Protectorate is one of Egypt’s most gorgeous pockets of wilderness, tucked between a pair of lakes of the same name (which also happens to have one of if not the largest waterfalls in Egypt). Taking travellers closer than ever to Wadi El Rayan’s natural beauty, eco tour agency Saharina Adventure Club and Fayoum art retreat Tzila Lodge promise a rich experience by the Monqar Dunes with Tzila Camp.

Named after the Berber word for ‘excellence in beauty’, Tzila Camp is made up of 100 beautifully furnished tents overlooking an awe-inspiring desert landscape. The camp itself gives you access to large tents for social gatherings and Bedouin parties, a mix of Bedouin and oriental cuisines, and a massive bonfire to cosy up to in the evenings.

While staying in your tent all day is certainly an option - they do come with a phone charging port, after all - you’ll most definitely want to venture beyond the limits of the camp, where you’ll be able to dive into all kinds of adventures among the dunes. Here you can go sandboarding or hiking, bird watching or stargazing - plus, thanks to owners Mohab Mikhail and Marina Fahim’s extensive history with the area, you’ll get hooked up with local 4x4 safari guides and go on extremes desert excursions to some of the steepest dunes in the area, or borrow some quad cars for some high-octane dune bashing.

For those who favor a shorter excursion into nature, Tzila Camp offers day-use packages including full access to their campsite for USD16 during the week and USD19 during weekends. Their overnight luxury tent prices start at USD58 for a single tent, and go as high as USD115 for a four-person tent.

For those traveling into Egypt, a negative PCR test must be presented before boarding that is no older than 72 hours.