Wadi Al-Hitan

Wadi Al-Hitan, the "Valley of the Whales", lies in the Western Desert about 150 km south-west of Cairo, in the Faiyum Governorate. Here, in an empty landscape of sand and wind-cut sandstone, lie the fossil skeletons of whales that swam in a shallow sea some 40 million years ago, in the Eocene epoch. UNESCO inscribed the site in 2005 because nowhere else shows so clearly, and in such numbers, one of the great transitions in the history of life: the change of whales from land-dwelling mammals into ocean animals. Hundreds of skeletons of these early whales, the archaeocetes, have been recorded here, and some are preserved so well that their stomach contents survive.

The most common species are the large Basilosaurus, whose longest skeleton here reaches about 21 m, and the smaller Dorudon, 3 to 5 m long. Their bodies already had the streamlined shape of modern whales, but they kept small hind legs, with feet and toes, and heavy skulls with teeth like those of land carnivores. The valley also holds the bones of early sea cows and the primitive elephant relative Moeritherium. Among the other fossils are crocodiles, turtles, sea snakes, a 1.8 m sawfish snout and countless shark teeth. In 2021 researchers identified the oldest known fossil pelican here. The first whale skeletons were found in the winter of 1902–03, but the site's remoteness kept it little studied until four-wheel-drive vehicles opened it up in the 1980s.

The scenery is part of the experience. Wind and water have carved the sandstone into cliffs and isolated buttes, and the bedrock is full of fossil shells and disc-shaped nummulites. Behind the valley rises Garet Gohannam, the "Mountain of Hell", which glows red at sunset. Fennec foxes often visit the campsite at night. Walkways lead between the main fossils, which lie where they were found, with small shelters along the way. In 2016 Egypt opened the Fossils and Climate Change Museum, built partly into the sand, which displays a complete Basilosaurus skeleton.

Wadi Al-Hitan lies within the Wadi El Rayan Protected Area, and visitors are restricted to guided visits along a prescribed trail. Fossil collectors removed many bones before the site was protected. Most visitors come from abroad and camp in the valley on winter weekends, and camel and walking treks are beginning to replace some of the four-wheel-drive traffic.

Getting there

The valley is reached by an unpaved desert track that crosses open sand, so a four-wheel-drive vehicle and an experienced driver or local operator are needed. The Wadi El Rayan lakes, in the same protected area, are about 65 km south-west of Faiyum city. The nearest airport by straight line is Sphinx International (SPX) west of Cairo, about 124 km away; most visitors arrive through Cairo International (CAI).