Egypt countryside tour to Dahshour | Egypt Rural tours

Dahshour is situated not far from Cairo, just 30 minutes drive from the famous Giza Pyramids and you are in another world, rural villages, agricultural fields, local farms and dates groves. Dahshour is an agricultural community consisting of five traditional villages we are going to visit on our day tour to the area.

King Farouk Lake Berket el-Malek

World known site for its incredible Black, Bent and Red Pyramids Dahshour is less known for its beautiful seasonal lake Birket Dahshour (King Farouk Lake, also known as Berket el-Malek). It is a natural depression and seasonal papyrus marshland with various migratory birds. This seasonal wetland is situated directly to the southeast of the Dahshour pyramids and attracts wintering birds, making the place ideal location for birds watching activities. During summer there is no water or birds there but from October to December it becomes a wetland and many migrant birds can be found in the area. Surrounded by halfa grass, unique to Dahshur and used in local artisan handicrafts, this area is one of the only such surviving ecosystems in Middle Egypt.

Palm groves countryside walk

Our rural experience includes visit to the pyramids of Dahshour, in winter we will walk around the lake trying to spot some rare birds there. Then walking tour in the area with the highest number of palm trees in the whole Egypt, we will walk between mix of palm trees and cultivated fields, traditionally mud-made huts and rural farms, pass by a traditional water well. Such wells were used in the past to lift up water from the canals to irrigate the fields, the wells were pulled by a donkey or a buffalo. Walk along canals built in the Pharaonic times, over 4000 years ago. In the past canals were used to transport goods, nowadays they are used only for irrigation of the nearest fields.

Lunch at locals

Let’s taste a delicious sampling of Dahshur’s rural cuisine, sourced directly from farm to table. We will have lunch at locals tasting the traditional falahin (peasants’) food at Nour Farm. This charming family-run farm set in the middle of Dahshur’s fertile and lush fields offers a delicious homemade rural lunch with countryside cuisine staples including roasted chicken or duck, seasonal mahshi (stuffed vegetables), rice, salad and seasonal fruits.

Handicrafts workshops

Then let’s go and explore some handicrafts offered by local community. We will visit a papyrus handicrafts workshop and see what you can do from papyrus plants. The process is very interesting, the artisan makes mats that are used for drying dates, as parasols or carpets. Then we will go to the Palm tree handicraft workshop to see how to make boxes from palm trees leaves. These boxes are used to transport fruits and vegetables, or as shelves for books. A visit to a group of women producing handicrafts such as table mats and carpets using local materials. At the end of our tour before heading back to Cairo let’s stop at Manchiet Dashur cafe for a cup of tea or coffee.