Bir Wahed

Siwa Oasis, Matruh Governorate, Egypt

Location: Siwa Oasis, Matruh Governorate, Egypt
Water type: sulfurous
Temperature: 40 °C
pH: 6.5

Water profile

Thermicity

Sedative

40 °C

LowHigh

Relaxing — deep, immediate muscle release.

Mineralisation

Bio-active

LowHigh

Rich in active gases or metals — a strong mineral character.

Buoyancy

Standard buoyancy

LowHigh

Soft water — natural, classic buoyancy.

SoufreSulfuresSulfates

Bir Wahed ('Well Number One') near Siwa Oasis in Egypt's remote Matruh Governorate is a sulfurous hot spring rising from the desert floor in an arid salt lake landscape on the edge of the Great Sand Sea, accessible from Egypt's most isolated inhabited oasis via a short 4WD journey across the desert. The spring's warm sulfurous water fills a natural desert pool where visitors swim beneath an infinite Saharan sky, making Bir Wahed one of the most dramatically remote and scenically extraordinary thermal bathing experiences in North Africa. Siwa Oasis, home to the ancient Oracle of Amun consulted by Alexander the Great, is one of Egypt's most culturally distinct communities, and Bir Wahed's hot spring is an integral part of the otherworldly Siwan desert landscape experience.

Insider tip — Bir Wahed, meaning 'Well Number One,' is the most famous of Siwa's natural pools, a spring-fed lake set among golden dunes at the oasis edge where the Great Sand Sea begins. The warm sulfurous water is a striking jade-green color, ringed by feathery palm trees and surrounded by a sea of orange dunes that glow magnificently at sunset. Swimming here while watching the sun sink over the Libyan Desert is a quintessential Siwa experience. Arrive an hour before sunset to secure a spot and watch the landscape transform through changing light.

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