Adrère Amellal

To arrive at Adrère Amellal (which translates as “white mountain”), at the edge of the Great Sand Sea, guests must brave an eight-hour drive through the desert, west from Cairo, or charter a private flight. The one-of-a-kind retreat is the work of pioneering environmentalist Dr. Mounir Neamatalla, who designed it as a model of sustainable development, with a women’s artisan project to preserve the landscape and Berber traditions of the oasis, which has been inhabited since 10,000 B.C. The eco-lodge has 39 rooms (including two suites) in kershef (mud and rock salt) houses built in the indigenous style. Rooms are furnished with locally made Berber carpets and olive wood and palm beds. There is no electricity, WiFi or phone service, but there’s a spring-fed pool in a palm grove, and activities include dune surfing, horseback riding, along with visits to wadis, tombs and temples and 13th-century houses in Siwa village.

The Standout: The Salt Suites, with furniture that was carved out of rock salt or locally made Don’t Miss: Dune surfing and a trek by Land Cruiser in the White Desert and the Great Sand Sea

• The unique location in a remote, off-the-grid desert oasis
• Romantic interiors lit by candles, oil lamps and warmed by coal braziers. When night falls, hundreds of lanterns and candles set a magical, mysterious mood.
• The lodge’s extraordinary structure made of mud and rock salt that resembles a sandcastle

On his first visit to the Siwa oasis in 1996, Egypt’s pioneering environmentalist Dr. Mounir Neamatalla, decided to create a model of sustainable development that would preserve the unique landscape and traditions of the oasis that has been inhabited since 10,000 BC. The project now encompasses the eco lodge Adrère Amellal as well as a simpler hotel in Siwa village, an organic-agriculture initiative and a women’s artisanship project.

Adrère Amellal sits at the edge of the Great Sand Sea. Its 39 rooms and suites are a combination of restored and newly built kershef (a mixture of mud and rock salt) houses, crafted by local people in the indigenous style. All rooms are simply furnished with locally made kilims (rugs) and olive wood and palm beds. There’s no electricity or phones, and oil lamps, candles and strategically placed fireplaces provide light and heat.

Activities at Adrère Amellal include dune surfing, horseback riding, jeep treks to distant wadis, the White Desert and the Great Sand Sea, and exploring 13th-century houses in the nearby village of Siwa. On-property, guests can swim in a spring-fed pool nestled in the palm and olive groves. The food is sourced locally and dinner is a unique affair, presented somewhere different on property every night.

To get there, guests must either drive from Cairo, which can take as long as eight to ten hours on a combination of paved and unpaved roads, or charter a plane, which costs about $50,000 for up to eight people.

Intrepid travelers who want to visit one of the most remote eco-lodges and landscapes in the world and don’t mind spending eight to 10 hours in a car or chartering a flight. Guests must be willing to be completely off the grid, as there is no electricity, Wifi or phone service at Adrère Amellal.