Rock formations in the White Desert, Egypt
© Anton Petrus/Getty Image
This snow will never melt. White Desert National Park, Egypt
Snow, in the desert? Not quite. Today we're in Egypt's White Desert, which gets its colourful name from the abundance of chalk, limestone, and quartz rock formations in the area and gives the sand its special hue. Tourists flock to this place to see these naturally-occurring structures, honed over thousands of years into unique shapes through a process known as 'differential weathering.' Located about five hours to the southwest of Cairo, White Desert National Park is a lot more than just deteriorating rocks – it's also a protected refuge for several endangered animal species, including barbary sheep, fennec fox, Dorcas gazelle, jackal, red fox, Rhmim gazelle, Ruppell’s fox, and Sand cats.
With activities ranging from dune bashing and sandboarding to mountain biking and kayaking in the nearby Bahariya Oasis, Egypt’s White Desert is definitely your go-to tourist destination this winter.
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