How Wadi El Rayan's manmade waterfalls became one of Fayoum's most popular natural attractions. Whether this is your first Egypt trip or a return visit, the details below are worth reading before you finalize your plans.

Siwa Oasis, roughly eight hours from Cairo by road, remains one of Egypt's most remote inhabited areas, known for salt lakes, freshwater springs, and a distinct Amazigh Berber culture found nowhere else in the country.

The White Desert's chalk-white rock formations, sculpted by centuries of wind erosion into shapes resembling mushrooms and animals, create one of the most surreal landscapes anywhere in Egypt, best experienced on an overnight desert camping trip.

Dahab, a laid-back town on the Gulf of Aqaba, has long attracted divers and backpackers with its house-reef diving directly off the shore, avoiding the boat trips required at busier Red Sea resorts.

Fayoum Oasis, less than two hours from Cairo, offers waterfalls at Wadi El Rayan, whale fossils at Wadi El Hitan, and pottery workshops in Tunis Village, making it an easy escape from the capital's pace.

St. Catherine Monastery, at the base of Mount Sinai, is one of the oldest continuously operating Christian monasteries in the world, and the predawn climb to the summit remains a popular pilgrimage and sunrise-viewing tradition.

As with most aspects of off-the-beaten-path Egypt travel, the right local guidance makes all the difference, and Egypt Rest Tours is here to provide it.