Another 2km west down the main road lies the unmarked white path that leads 3.5km toward Deir al-Haggar, the unguarded ruins of a small Roman temple. Follow the path south until it ends in a small village, turn right, then take the first left to the back of the village. The temple is southeast another 1.5km, out of sight from the back of the village but soon visible in a small depression. This, too, was closed in 1993. One km east of Al-Qasr is the turn-off for Bir al-Gabal, a hot spring connected by a road to the highway. After a 5km walk (some travelers may be iucky enough to catch a ride with a truck on its way to a nearby quarry), you’ll arrive at a paradisiacal little pool adorned by swarming insects and mysterious objects floating on the water’s edge.

Returning to Mut, a 5km eastward detour at the Bedouin village of Ad-Drous will bring you to an Islamic cemetery. Three km before Mut, stop for a dip at the Tour ism Wells, where the rest houses are located. Hot spring water (42°C) has been tapped to fill two swimming pools, open to both sexes, before it flows into irrigation channels (free if you paid the tourism development tax; see Some Tips, above).

Two historic villages on the eastern side of Mut may restore your faith in rural living. In the crowded old section of Balaat (pop. 5000), elongated dark passageways burst into a courtyard with palm fronds and grape vines. The unguarded red-brick tombs of Ad-Daba, still under excavation, inhere to lands 3km northeast of the main road behind the village. First walk 750m east from the official bus stop to a bantam military base, identifiable by its white stone columns; from there walk lkm straight into the desert. The ongoing work of a team of French archaeologists has revealed several bizarre inverted step pyramids dating from the 6th dynasty.