The valley of the whales (Wadi al-Hitan)
The valley of the whales, (Wadi Al-Hitan) lies within the borders of (WRPA) Wadi El-Rayan Protected Area which is 150KM southwest of Cairo in the Al Fayoum governorate of Egypt.
Wadi Al-Hitan “the whale’s valley” is a UNESCO world heritage since 2005.
The valley of the whales lies in the middle of a distinctive desert (western desert) of Egypt; it is one of the best-preserved pale-ontological sites in the world.
The valley of the whales contains hundreds of fossils and mega fossils of some of the earliest forms of whales, it explains the evolution of whales from a previous life as a land-based animal to an ocean-going mammal, 40 million years.
The whale’s valley “wadi el Hitan is an excavation site of whales, sharks, petrified mangrove bushes.
The valley of the whales has a magnificent landscape of wind-eroded rock platforms surrounded by sand dunes and hills and a varied species of desert plants, a wide variety of fossil plants, and various other remains of the prehistoric sea.
Wadi El-Rayan
Was created in 1989 in the surroundings of a series of natural hot springs and two lakes created in 1970 from unneeded agricultural water channeled from the close lake Karun (Qarun)
Details of the visit:
We drive
- 150Km southwest of Cairo
we
- continue beside Qarun Lake (42KM long)
and then
- we arrive at Wadi El Rayan
- Stop at Gabal el Medawara
- We drive 40KM inside the desert to reach the valley of the whales.
Enjoy the discovery of fossils of whales, sharks, crocodiles, sawfish, turtles and rays, desert plants, sand dunes, wild mammals, mangrove bushes.
Then,
- driving back to Wadi El-Rayan
, enjoying the waterfalls,
- going in a boat in the lake
- possibility to swim.
- Lunch in a typical restaurant
| Number of visitors | Total price |
|---|---|
| 1-3 | 189 Euros |
| 4-8 | 309 Euros |
The price doesn’t include lunch.
Possibility to camp in the desert.
Possibility to have an overnight in a hotel or a gite (guest house)
Possibility to have a horse ride beside the lake.
For more details, don’t hesitate to contact us.
