Finding Egypt’s hidden desert whales in beautiful Wadi al-Hitan
When searching for amazing field trips to take in a country, I like to look for a wide variety of different experiences, so we can really dive into everything it has to offer. I especially like to look at what National Parks and UNESCO World Heritage sites there are. With its rich cultural history, I found plenty of historical and cultural sites to check out all across Egypt, but one site, in particular, surprised me.
That site is Whale Valley National Park, or the Wadi al-Hitan. Of the seven different UNESCO World Heritage sites in Egypt, Whale Valley is unique, since it is the sole natural heritage site.
Where is Whale Valley?
Whale Valley is located inside the Wadi El Rayan nature preserve, not far from the oasis town of Faiyum, which is itself filled with things to do. For our trip, we stayed in Tunis Village, a small artisan village on the banks of the Qayrun Lake, which I highly recommend both for its location near Whale Valley, and for its relaxing and quiet atmosphere.
Wadi Al-Hitan National Park
Getting into Whale Valley actually requires two separate entry tickets. One is for Whale Valley, and the other is for Wadi el-Rayan National Park, which you have to drive through to get there.
Wadi el-Rayan entry – $5/person, 5 and under free
Whale Valley entry – $10/person, 5 and under free
4×4 transportation cost – roughly 1200 -1500 EGP ($75-$95) for a family of 4
Since Whale Valley only takes a couple of hours to explore, most tours will take advantage of its proximity to Wadi el-Rayan by adding on a variety of other fun desert activities, like sand-boarding or checking out Egypt’s only waterfall.
Whale Valley itself is a short drive through the desert by 4×4 jeep, but while we were there, we noticed construction being done on the road out, so it may become more easily accessible in the near future!
Note: Since it is only about 62 miles (100km) from Cairo, it is quite possible to do a day trip from there, but since driving speeds through the desert are much slower than highway speeds, it makes for a long day in the car.
Personally, I’d recommend spending a night or two in Tunis Village, as it allows you to spend much more time on site! (More on that below)
What is Whale Valley?
Whales are probably one of the last things you think about when considering Egypt, and really that makes sense. After all, it’s been quite some time since whales have called it home. But during the Eocene epoch (roughly 40 million years ago), a large part of Egypt was covered in a huge inland sea. And the kings of that sea were whales.
Fast forward to the year 1902, when these whales began to surface once again. At the time, the valley was much too difficult to reach for most people, and so the discovery didn’t make too many waves, but it did put the area on the map for paleontologists around the world. And more than 100 years later, in 2005, Whale Valley officially became a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Why is Whale Valley Important?
Whale Valley gained its status as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2005, largely due to a discovery made in 1989. While whale fossils have been discovered around the world, the skeletons here were different in one key way.
They had feet!
It was a discovery that rocked the scientific community, as it pointed to whales descending from terrestrial mammals, rather than the other way around.
The largest specimens were the fearsome basilosaurus, which could get as long as 80ft, and were likely the top predators in the area. Smaller dorudons were similar to dolphins and also appeared frequently during digs at the site. Fossils of both species can be seen along the Wadi Al-Hitan hiking trail.
Other fossil discoveries include sea cows, sharks, swordfish, and even an early pseudo-elephant called moeritherium. Most recently, paleontologists have discovered a four-legged amphibious whale called Phiomicetus anubis, named for the Egyptian god of death, and thought to be a top predator both on land and in the shallow sea.
What is there to do at Whale Valley?
After arriving at the valley, there are two main attractions to check out. The first is a small but really nice museum dedicated to putting the finds from the area into perspective and the second is a short hike through the desert to see some of the fossils themselves, in situ. Both are worth checking out!
Whale Valley Museum
First up is the museum!
The museum itself is a large, circular space dedicated to explaining the finds from the site. A glassed-in pair of skeletons dominate the center of the space. The larger one is a basilosaurus, and the smaller is a dorudon atrox, which are the two main whale species discovered at the site. My pictures do not do them justice.
The outer wall of the room is filled with information on both species, as well as tons of other fossils found in the area. All the exhibits were really engaging, and my son especially loved reading up on all the discoveries.
Alongside the other exhibits, there is also a short video explaining the importance of the site.
Whale Valley Trail (~ 2 miles)
Once you’ve checked out everything inside, it’s time to hit the trail!
The Whale Valley trail is a short, easy walk through the desert to check out some of the fossils in situ. The path is about 2 miles from start to finish, with numbered fossil sites spread out over that distance. It’s a pretty easy walk, but if you don’t want to go the whole way, there are a few spots where it loops back on itself, so you can choose to head back out early.
I absolutely loved seeing the fossils rising out of the sand, and the surrounding sandstone hills were gorgeous. We visited in early December, so the day was cool, and I felt comfortable in a light jacket.
After our hike, we stopped by the cafeteria to get some Turkish coffee and juice before checking out some of the other desert attractions in the area. In all, we spent about 2 hours in Whale Valley itself, but we still passed almost the full day in the desert.
How do I get to Whale Valley?
If you do a quick internet search for tours to Whale Valley, most of the tours that pop up are one or two-day tours leaving from Cairo. And honestly, if you’re just interested in seeing Whale Valley itself, and not everything else that the area has to offer, those tours can work for you.
Guided tours of Whale Valley – Viator
Unfortunately, most tours that you can book online leave from and return to Cairo. It is definitely possible to do a tour of the valley from Cairo, but I feel like you would miss out on a lot of what makes the Faiyum area special!
Instead, I recommend booking accommodations in the area and hiring a local driver to take you. Ask your host for recommendations for drivers!
However, leaving from Cairo makes for a long day in the car, and, at least with our kids, that’s not a choice we wanted to make.
That extra distance is why my family decided to stay for a full weekend in the nearby Tunis village, which made visiting Whale Valley much easier. We ended up not booking through a tourism company, and instead chose to book in person with a local driver.
All we had to do was let our host know that we were interested in seeing the valley, and they arranged transport with a driver who had a 4×4 vehicle. We did something similar for a different desert trip that weekend, hiring a driver through one of our friends to go out to the nearby petrified forest for a day. In both cases, we paid roughly 1300 Egyptian pounds (a little over $80) to hire the driver for the day.
If you decide to go this route, just ask your hotel or your Airbnb host for suggestions. The oasis brings in a lot of tourism, so there’s always plenty of drivers willing to take families out!
Other Great Things to do Near Whale Valley
I’ve already mentioned some of the other amazing things you can do in the areas surrounding Whale Valley, but it’s worth listing a few of them out here.
Whale Valley is located outside of Faiyum, where you can:
Tour the Oasis Town
The Faiyum Oasis has a long and rich cultural history. The farmland surrounding the oasis was some of the first farmlands in the world to be irrigated, and the lake there is still hugely important to the farms there today.
Horse rides along the shore, boat rides, and birdwatching are all amazing choices. (There’s flamingos!)
Faiyum Petrified Forest
As if whale fossils in the desert weren’t enough, just on the other side of the oasis is an entire petrified forest! It’s a bit deep in the desert, so we had the place pretty much to ourselves. Bare, petrified trees stuck out of the sand all along the designated pathway, as well as numbered stations with fossil remains from the area.
This is another trip that requires a 4×4 vehicle, but it’s a ton of fun! On our trip out we stopped by some local ruins, looked over the edge of a cliff where an ancient waterfall once flowed, and let our kids try out sandboarding for the first time!
Sand-boarding in the Dunes
Our kids loved sandboarding so much, we ended up doing it both days we were there!
You can definitely take trips out solely for sandboarding, but both of our drivers kept their own stash of sandboards in the back of their cars and added it onto our trips for no extra cost. It’s a ton of fun going down the dunes, and while the hike back up can be tough, it’s well worth a try.
Magic Lake
Magic Lake is one of two lakes located in the desert outside of Faiyum. It’s gorgeous! It gets its name from its tendency to change colors throughout the day, a phenomenon that is pretty amazing, but which is also fairly hard to observe, since it happens over hours, not minutes.
Still, it’s a beautiful place, and on the way back to town from Whale Valley. Add it to your trip, if you can!
Egypt’s only Waterfall
Between the two lakes found in Wadi El Rayan is a small stream of water, flowing from the higher lake and dropping into the lower. It’s honestly not much, but in a country noted for its dry climate, it is a unique sight.
And TONS more!
Unfortunately, we only spent a couple of days in the area, and so we weren’t able to explore Faiyum to the fullest. But! There is a TON of things to see and do in the area.
The Fayoum Tourism Authority actually put out a wonderful PDF map of the area with suggested activities along three different routes, Nature, Archaeology, and Culture, as well as a map of the Wadi Al-Rayan Nature Preserve. Both maps are excellent resources and a great help in planning any trip to the area.
Where to stay and eat in Tunis Village, Faiyum
Best places to stay near Wadi al-Hitan
If your stay just has to be perfect, there is absolutely no better place to stay in Tunis Village than Lazib Inn Resort & Spa.
Not only do they have some of the most beautiful rooms in town, but they are also home to one of the best known restaurants in town, the Blue Donkey. In a word, delicious.
If you’re looking for a more traditional hotel stay in Tunis Village, I’d personally suggest Villa Tunis Village. We didn’t stay here, but we did eat breakfast at the hotel’s restaurant, and the food was delicious! The grounds there are beautiful as well, which makes it a solid choice as a place to stay, in my book.
If you plan on staying longer than a couple days, it’s worth looking into some of the apartment properties in the area.
This one has 2 bedrooms, a fully equipped kitchen, and a swimming pool for those hot Egyptian afternoons.
Where to eat in Tunis Village
Ibis Cooking School in Tunis Village obviously did their homework when it comes to making delicious meals!
When we visited, we arrived early, and we’re glad we did! The restaurant filled up fast. And with food like they served, it was easy to see why. I had a delicious chicken and mushroom pasta, and my wife had fish in a caper sauce. Both were excellent.
