This One-Day Camp Takes You Around the Lakes of Egypt’s Northern Delta

Those of us who have officially entered an age where we must coexist with the looming threat of a stray “tant” (auntie), delivered by a well-intentioned—though incredibly bratty—teen at a family gathering already overflowing with talk of “spinsters”, are more than just a little familiar with the concept of trying to reverse the insanely aggressive effects of time. 

A few of us, the wider-pocketed ones, have resorted to “strategic medical enhancements” in the form of the modern-day Elixir of Life (botox), while other similarly well-heeled Millenials have decided to “invest” their life’s worth of overtime and extra shifts into a Harley with a matching leather jacket. 

However, for the increasingly dwindling crowd of poets and philosophers among us, the approach towards eternal youth seems to divert away from surgeries and splurges and, instead, involves going back to where it all began—school. It seems like no matter what the academics choose to do, they want to learn something—from taking courses at the local university (usually business or dance—no in-between) to embarking on educational expeditions across undiscovered corners of the world. 

Now, while the former provides education that’s limited by the confines of a classroom, the latter brings the desks, chairs and blackboard to remote lakes, hidden historical sites, and the heart of local cultures in voluntary (and honestly, enviable) isolation. 

One Egyptian travel venture that’s looking to revive the nostalgic atmosphere of school day trips, where education and entertainment collide with enough finesse to engage even the most attention-scattered among us, is Burullus Camp. 

Engaged in the noble pursuit of ensuring the oft-overlooked ancient lakes of Egypt’s Northern Delta get their share of the tourism pie (a big chunk of which is hogged by two other bodies of water—the Med and the Red…Sea), Burullus Camp brings together locals and tourists alike for quick one-day getaways to some of the country’s still-unsullied-by-man towns and villages. 

Beginnings in Burullus 

Founded during a time when the streets were overtaken by the silence (and restlessness) that accompanied the pandemic, Burullus Camp sprouted out of the idea of non-crowded trips that could help restore one’s mental health, while also maintaining the distance required to preserve one’s physical wellbeing during the Years of the Mask™. 

“We were all working from home, bored,” Ahmed Ali, Co-Founder of Burullus Camp, shares with SceneTraveller. “So, we decided to plan trips to somewhere calm, not crowded. That’s where the idea to take people to Lake Burullus came from.” 

Having worked as a documentary photographer and videographer, Ahmed had encountered, documented and fallen in love with the magical lake several times over on his (often solo) expeditions. Increasingly, he was overcome with the urge to share the allure of Lake Burullus with others (no lakekeeping here), providing them with the opportunity to camp there for a night or two. 

Ahmed, alongside his partner Abdelrhman Galal Ghareeb (a zoologist!), decided to start a true eco-friendly camp directly on the lake—hence the name—but, as often is the case in life, love and lakes, things didn’t quite work out as planned. Right after their very first overnight trip, not even a few hours after, they had to shut everything down. “In the morning we had a camp, after Isha prayer, we had nothing.” 

I know what you’re thinking (et tu, Brullus?) but actually, the entire business was upended by Ahmed and Abdelrhman entirely willingly. “The locals weren’t very comfortable with the idea of strangers spending the night,” Ahmed explains to SceneTraveller. “So, out of respect, we cancelled everything.” 

Prioritising the locals every step of the way, the co-founders went back to the drawing board, quickly deciding to do one-day tours instead, playing on the concept of “spend the day somewhere new, spend the night somewhere known.” Which, for a hygiene-freak like me, is a true germless blessing. 

Armed with a brand-new plan, the documentarian and zoologist (honestly, could easily start their own Indiana-Jones-esque franchise) set out to acquire a boat that could take their guests around the historic lake. But, as seems to be the theme of this adventurous venture, that also broke down very quickly. 

“The locals wanted to work with us,” Ahmed tells SceneTraveller. “So, we asked them to renovate their fishing boats to match our needs, then, eventually, we had no need for our boat.” 

Going a few steps further in their efforts to benefit the local community, Ahmed and Abdelrhman began redirecting some of their clients to the fishermen. “If someone wants to come on one of our trips but finds them a bit out of budget, we connect them with the locals, who take them out on more budget-friendly tours.” 

Ain’t No Lake North Enough 

When they still had their boat, they had it fully furnished in kilims from Fowa, the hub of handmade Egyptian kilim, which they began selling for Fowa locals, yet another community Burullus Camp set out to help. After some logistical issues with transportation, the founders couldn’t sell the crafts anymore. Instead of simply setting their sights back on Burullus, they decided to take people on trips to Fowa instead, so they could buy their own handmade goods directly from the locals. 

And, since Desouk City—from which Ahmed hails—isn’t too far away, he decided to pay homage to his hometown, adding it to the Fowa itinerary. “Back home, we have these small islands in the Nile, completely untouched by modernisation and overpopulation. They’re beautiful.” 

Steadily, the business grew. Yet, it wasn’t until Ahmed put his documentarian hat and matching cargo pants on and grabbed his camera that Burullus Camp really took off. “I started shooting reels of our trips and sharing them. Suddenly, we blew up.” 

From Edko in Rashid to Manzala in Port Said 

With new clients, came new opportunities that allowed Burullus Camp to spotlight even more places across Egypt’s Northern Delta, whether through their 5-12 trips per month, private tours, photography expeditions, or even bird-watching excursions with local nature groups.

From then on, the A Team continued to choose places even Egyptians hadn’t been before or didn’t know how to reach, as well as places that are generally well-known but with hidden nooks most are unaware of. 

In Rashid, for example, instead of just showing the historical aspect of the popular city, they decided to add some nature-centred excursions to the mix, even stopping at farms during orange and date harvesting seasons to sample the produce before heading off on one or two tours across Lake Edko. There, one-day campers can learn about the fisherman, their lives, and their livelihood—fishing, a practice that has existed in these very lakes since the time of the pharaohs, before Menes ever united Upper and Lower Egypt. 

Another example is Port Said. Beyond the seafood, which is well worth the drive even from Hurghada, Burullus Camp makes it a point to stop by the famed Flamingo Lake, which is just as the name implies, and Lake Manzala, where fishermen and their sailboats (and, if you’re down to take a historical vessel for a spin, you) lazily glide over the calm photogenic waters. 

Even now, with the additions of Dahshur, Sakkara and Memphis to their itinerary, the co-founders and vetted local guides continue to give historical and evolutionary context on the flora, fauna, and, most importantly, food—from grilled Bouri fish in Burullus and a seafood fiesta in Port Said to traditional hawawshi cooked on stones in Rashid. 

So, by combining all aspects of each "undiscovered" destination—the educational, the entertaining, and the edible—the camp harkens back to the time of school excursions, of simple, informational day-trips that build community, family and memories filled with enough knowledge to make you the uncontested star of the next family dinner. And, perhaps even keep you young for a little while longer—if not in body then, at the very least, in spirit.