Al Sorat Farm is a wonderful peaceful oasis near the Saqqara Pyramids that makes for a great half day or full day outing from the chaos of Cairo. I set up a group trip down there with friends. We ended up with 7 adults and 9 kids (ages 9 months to 7 years) and we all had a blast. We can’t wait to go back again!

Al Sorat Farm is run by a Canadian woman, Maryanne who has lived in Egypt several decades and has run the farm since 2005. She raised her family in Cairo and Alexandria and started the farm after her husband died. Their initial focus was tourism and horseback riding but after the 2011 revolution, tourism dropped significantly. She ended up training her staff as farriers and vet assistants and they worked with local animals. Now tourism is slowly picking back up and they do a mix.  They have a charity initiative where they provide vet care to local animals for free. To read more about that, go here.

Visitors are welcome at the farm. You do have to make a reservation a bit in advance as sometimes they are closed for private events and they try to limit how many people are at the farm on any given day. They can also make a farm lunch with advanced warning, or you can bring a picnic and even make use of their grill.

From Maadi, it’s about a 45 minute drive. We hired a mini bus for half our group and the rest went in a large car. It was pretty countryside and I always like going through the villages. We saw a family riding in a tuk tuk holding on to a lead rope that was attached to a horse running along beside!

The farm was great. It is a working farm that raises animals and does organic farming. It is run to Western standards of hygiene and animal care and the animals all looked great. Kids are encouraged to run around, dig in the dirt, gather rocks, climb things, and get messy. I brought changes of clothes for the kids and both needed them. DS got really wet early on and I changed him and let his clothes dry in the sun and then he got wet again and I switched him back into his now dry clothes. Come prepared!

Initially we had fun meeting all the animals. There are about 15 farm dogs who very enthusiastically greeted us. DD did not like that, but they calmed down and all went for naps pretty quickly. The kids (and me!) did love petting the goats, donkeys, horses, and mule. Many of the goats were very pregnant and the kids loved picking out which ones were about to pop!

Then they all ran around the grassy yard for a while. The area around the farm house is fenced in with picnic tables, chairs, a hammock, and plenty of nice grass. There were also cages with chickens, ducks and small birds. I suggest bringing a ball. It was great having a place for the kids to run and shriek!

Next up was a horseback ride for the adults and a donkey cart ride for the kids. I rode in the cart to keep DS and other littles from climbing out. We all took a trail ride through the village area and saw villagers working and growing their crops. The farm provides helmets and everyone had fun. Once we returned, the kids got to ride on the horses up and down the driveway. DD was thrilled to be back up on a horse again. I wasn’t sure how DS would do as he hadn’t been on a horse in a year and he screamed the last time we tried. But of course, a year is a long time for a toddler and this time he LOVED it. Fully obsessed with being up there and rode along quite happily–first with his sister and then by himself. He had great balance and did NOT want to get down!

We ended the morning with lunch. We brought picnics for the kids and they ate and then ran around. The adults all ordered the farm lunch and it was amazing. Huge buffet spread–chicken, sweet potatoes, beans, salads, fresh bread, fruit and more. Delicious!!!

Kids were ready for nap by then, so we all headed home. We can’t wait to go back!

Practical Information

Where: Al Sorat Farm is about 45 min from Maadi, close to Saqqara Country Club. More detailed directions are here.

How to Get There: You’ll need to either self drive or hire a car to wait. You won’t be able to pick up a taxi or Uber when departing.

Cost: Farm visits cost LE50 per person 3 and older. Lunch is LE100 for 10 and older and LE 50 for under 10. You can have adults do lunch and bring for kids or bring for everyone. Farm visit cost includes 30 minutes of horseback riding.

Bring: Change of clothes for kids! I wish I’d brought extra shoes, as both ended up with wet shoes from a massive dog water bowl they both fell in. Also bring snacks and lunch if desired. It’s a farm, so wear clothes that can get dirty.

Bathroom: The farm house has a real bathroom with toilet paper and a sink for use