Crystal Mountain (Gabal Al-Zahr, "Mountain of Flowers") is a natural geological formation on the road between Bahariya and Farafra, about 120 km south of Bawiti. It is a small arch and hill composed almost entirely of quartz, barite, and calcite crystals — when the sun is on it, the surface flashes and glitters with extraordinary intensity.
The formation is right beside the main asphalt road and can be visited without any off-road vehicle. It is typically a brief stop (30 minutes) on the way to or from the White Desert. Visitors clamber over the formation and photograph the crystals at close range; some people chip pieces off, which is technically illegal and has depleted the structure compared to photographs from the 1990s. The best light for photography is in the early morning or late afternoon when the angle is low.