Day Trips From Cairo: Wadi Al Hitan National Park

Egypt is such a large country that there is no way you could truly dig in and see everything there is to see on one trip. Even living here over the last 9 months, I feel like we’ve barely scratched the surface. We have been trying to really take advantage of the culture and history surrounding us by soaking in as much of the national treasures here as possible. It’s something I really regret not doing in Kuwait or Thailand.

During one of the days of our second spring break (yes we have two spring breaks!) our friends Dana and Arsenio invited us to accompany them on this quick day trip to Wadi Al Hitan National Park outside of Faiyum. Faiyum is commonly spelled Fayoum, Fayyum, Fayom or Al Faiyūm.

Our driver Mohamed picked us up at our house at 8 AM. We took a scenic drive from Cairo through many different terrains down south to Faiyum. It took us about an hour and a half to reach the city of Faiyum and another 30 minutes to reach our local driver and tour guide, Omar.

Driving In Wadi Al Hitan

Omar drove us deep into the desert to see multiple areas of the Wadi Hitan National Park. We drove for what seemed like forever. It was at least a good hour before we actually reached any sites. I would recommend you get a legitimate guide to take you out into this desert because there was literally nothing and no one as far as the eye could see. I can not stress enough how important it is that you are in an SUV with 4WheelDrive (4WD). I’m not even sure how someone would find you if you were to get lost or stuck. There is no cell service and no distinguishable landmarks but sand and more sand.

Out In The Desert

Our guide Omar was very adventurous driving us on these huge sand dunes. The sudden drops make you feel like you’re on a rollercoaster but you aren’t wearing any seat belts or protection. Personally, I am not a fan of roller coasters but since we did a desert safari in Dubai I kind of knew what to expect. The key to driving out there is to just keep moving. The sand is soft so the moment you stop moving it’s like quicksand. You start sinking. Luckily we only got stuck twice and for a short amount of time.

Fossil and Climate Change Museum

After driving for 22miles or 36kilometers we finally reached Wadi Al Hitan a.k.a. The Valley Of The Whales. At the entrance to the valley, there is a small one-room museum called the Fossil and Climate Change Museum.

This museum, it gives you an overview of what you will see once you walk out into the valley. During the movement of the continents from Pangea to the 7 continents, we have today, Egypt was mostly underwater. It was covered with water all the way down to Luxor by the Tethys Sea until about 40million years ago. Some remnants of this water are found in the lakes that are out in this desert. 

This place is really important as it helped scientists figure out the evolution of whales. In fact, it’s so important that it was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005.

According to the museum, whales were once land mammals and over time evolved to be the water animals we know today. They had both hands and feet and walked around on all fours. The skeleton of two ginormous whales was at the center of this museum. They were 18 meters or 59 feet long. Could you imagine one of these things walking by you? Yea, neither could I. 

Valley Of The Whales

In this area, they found a concentration of over 100 fossils of different animals such as crabs, sharks, turtles, and crocodiles. Amazingly enough most of the fossils were completely intact and some were so well preserved they found contents in their stomachs. 

After visiting the museum we set out to trek the Valley. Since we had not known this tour required walking we were not prepared for the heat or the walking. It was super hot and the way the sun hits you here in Egypt is unlike anywhere else I’ve ever been. We walked for maybe 30 minutes and turned back. Even with the sunblock, I could feel my skin starting to burn. 

The cool part about this valley is realizing that this was once the bottom of the sea. The rock formations are towering above you and you are able to see where the water line once stood due to the oxidization of the rocks. It makes you realize just how small you really are.  There are many whale fossils partially exposed that you could see. Some were tucked into the rocks and some were on the ground. The sheer size of them was amazing to me. We attempted to see shapes in the rocks and we found a camel, a frog, and a turtle. Whether anyone else could see them I’m not sure. hahaha 

Sand, Sand, and More Sand

After we left the valley we went and explored more of the protectorate. One thing that we thought was pretty cool was Omar, the driver, keep driving towards plastic bags and trash to pick it up rather than driving past them and leaving it for someone else. It reminds you that it is our job to clean up the mess we’ve made on the planet. If only we had more people willing to pick up their trash in Cairo it would probably be a lot cleaner city.

We passed by so many different types of sand on this drive. Smooth sand, wavy sand, rocky sand, white sand, yellow sand, black sand, soft sand, hard sand. Sand surrounded us in this desert on another level. Omar truly had to know where he was going from experience because even though I am great with directions there was no way I could have found my way around without GPS or landmarks.

After driving for a bit longer we reached what is known as the Bedouin Palace. From the top of a surrounding mountain, it looks like a  yellow/white version of the Grand Canyon with a much larger valley. We plunged into this canyon and pulled up on a Bedouin camp. There was an option to have lunch here for 125Le but since our friends were fasting we decided to skip that.

Sandboarding 

This camp also had sandboarding available. If you have ever seen people snowboarding it is kind of the same thing but with a much smaller board. The hardest part for me was just climbing up the mountain of sand. This sand was extremely soft so as soon as you paused to catch your breath you were sinking. Did I mention it was hot? So obviously ya girl had to stop 100 times and I just kept sinking. Omar told us to go up to the top but none of us made it up that high. hahaha Alejandro tried to board while standing. After a few attempts, he successfully surfed down the hill. There is a youtube video at the bottom.

I, on the other hand, did not even bother. If you saw the way I busted my ass snowboarding you would understand why I didn’t even bother. I politely sat on the board like it was a sled and went down the sand. Unfortunately for me, I ripped my pants. Brand new pants that just arrived from the USA. Quite rude of the pants to betray me like that. After that, we were all too tired to attempt to climb up the mountain again so we just got back in the car and kept on driving.

Magic Lake

Once we drove up to the top of a rock formation we were able to look out upon the Magic Lake. It is known as the Magic Lake because it looks different colors depending on the time of day. We arrived there around 3 PM and it was a blueish green color. We snapped a couple of pictures and transcended the rock top. The tour was supposed to include Wadi Al Rayan, which is waterfall nearby but it was packed as this is a popular tourist attraction so we did not see it.

Tunis Village

After we left the desert behind we returned to where we met up with Omar. Faiyum is famous for its hand-made pottery. We visited Ibrahim Samir’s Pottery Workshop. Ibrahim had a really lovely collection of artwork. From plates and bowls to trays and shot glasses all of it was hand-made and beautifully designed. He told us that there are many ways to make pottery but he specializes in a few different styles. Most of the items on display are made by either the pottery wheel or hand building. His work is currently featured in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the MET in NYC.

His work was beautiful and truly one of a kind so we bought a couple of different pieces. While we didn’t have enough time to complete an actual workshop, there was an offer or us to return and learn the art of pottery.

Until Next Time 

After this long day, we headed back to Cairo. There are many other things to do around Wadi Hitan and Faiyum, other than the things we did so we will probably return to this city.

There are quite a few hotels available in the area for cheap prices if you wanted to stay more than one day. Wadi Hitan has a few camps but if you want to be near civilization you might want to stay in Faiyum.

Booking.com

Alejandro visited Faiyum on a school field trip and he stayed at Byoum Lakeside Hotel.

Price Breakdown 

Dana set everything up through a local tour guide. This was the lowest prices she found.

Being able to split the cost by 4 people made this trip even cheaper. If you are looking for a quick day trip from Cairo but don’t want to fly this is a good option. After you return let us know how it went.

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