Siwa Salt Lakes

The Siwa Salt Lakes are among the oasis's most surreal sights — pools of blinding white salt crust framing water so mineral-dense a turquoise it barely looks real. Step into the brine and you float effortlessly, buoyed like the Dead Sea, the salt crystallising into sharp white shelves at the edges.

Ringed by palm groves and the vast Western Desert, the lakes are a bucket-list bathing spot and a natural spa: the mineral water is prized for skin and aching joints. Come toward late afternoon, when the low sun turns the crust rose-gold and the water electric blue, and bring a way to rinse off the salt afterwards.