Long Way Education

By Eman Abdallah Kamel

Eman is a writer and an engineer. She is interested in researching and writing about natural parks in Egypt and many other topics.

Wadi Al Rayan is one of Egypt’s largest reserves. This article covers its location, the most important tourist attractions in the protected area, and some precautions to take.

Wadi Al Rayan

According to the number of species and scientific value of the reserve, Wadi al-Rayan is Egypt’s second-largest reserve in terms of natural diversity and scientific value after Ras Mohammad.

Al-Rayan Valley is 150 km southwest of Cairo, two hours from the Giza pyramids, and 40 km from Fayoum City.

The valley is 43 meters below sea level. As a result of its decline, it was decided at the beginning of the 1970s to use it to drain part of the agricultural drainage water in Fayoum Governorate.

The project was implemented in 1973 by digging an open canal with a length of about 9 km, connected to a tunnel 8.5 km long and 3 meters in diameter.

This led to the formation of two artificial lakes: the Upper Lake and the Lower Lake. The valley receives about 250 million cubic meters of agricultural drainage water annually, representing one-third of the agricultural drainage of the Fayoum Governorate.

The formation of the two lakes led to the emergence of new types of plants as well as the migration of new species of mammals and birds to the valley.

There are more than 15 species of wild animals, such as white deer, Egyptian gazelle, fennec fox, and sand fox, in Wadi al-Rayan. More than a hundred bird species live in the valley, including the Shaheen falcon, the white heron, the gray heron, the flamingo, and the gull. The valley also includes types of desert plants such as acacia and pine.

Did You Know?

The fennec fox is an endangered animal. It is the smallest species of canid (a mammal of the dog family, Canidae) in the world. It weighs about 0.7–1.6 kg and has large pointed ears. It is native to the deserts of North Africa and Arabia.

The Egyptian government announced the Wadi Al Rayan Nature Reserve in 1989. The area of the reserve is 1,759 square kilometres.

Wadi al-Rayan Protected Area is under the supervision of the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency. The Egyptian-Italian project was started in March 1998 to support the protected area. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) provides technical assistance to the project.

Destinations

Al Rayan Valley’s main attractions are,

1. The Upper Lake,
2. The Lower Lake,
3. Waterfalls,
4. Jabal Al Madwera,
5. The area of Oyoun Al Rayan,
6. Mountain Manqueer, Al Rayan,
7. and Wadi Al Hitan (Whale Valley).

1. The Upper Lake

The lake has an area of 65 square kilometers and is located in the Masakhet Valley. The upper lake rises about 20 meters above the lower lake. The lake has a salinity of about 1.5 g/L and a maximum depth of 22 meters.

2. The Lower Lake

The Lower Lake is about 100 square kilometers. Its salinity is higher than that of the upper lake, about 2.5 g/L, and its maximum depth is 34 m.

Waterfalls area of Wadi Al Rayan. Image by Khadiga Sobeih.

3. Waterfalls

The waterfall area is 20 km from the gate of the protected area.

It is the area that connects the Upper Lake and the Lower Lake. It lies in the Valley of the Kosymat. Three waterfalls are located in this beautiful region.

Horse and camel riding, as well as golf courses, are available in the waterfalls region.

Over three restaurants and an ecotourism camp are located near the waterfalls.

4. Jabal Al Madwera

Jabal al Madwera is located about five kilometers away from the waterfalls near the lower lake. Jabal al Madwera is a circular-shaped hill bordered by three hills on the other side.

Water flows between them in the shape of a tongue from the lake. You can climb this hill to see beautiful landscapes and bird swarms in the protected area.

5. Oyoun Al Rayan

You can find Oyoun Al Rayyan in the southwest of Lower Lake. There are three sulfur springs in this sand-dune area. And many rare wild animals and desert plants.

You can enjoy sand skiing in the Oyoun al-Rayan area.

Did You Know?

The Saker falcon (Falco cherrug) is a large species of hawk. These species breed in Eastern Europe and South Asia. They migrate in winter to Ethiopia, the desert of North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, northern Pakistan, and western China.

6. Mountain Manqueer Al Rayan

Jabal Manqueer Al-Rayyan is located south and southwest of Oyoun Al-Rayan. There are different types of migratory and resident birds, such as the Shaheen falcon and the Saker falcon. The area also includes some marine fossils.

7. Wadi Al Hitan (The Whale Valley)

Wadi al-Hitan is about 30 km from Jabal al-Madwera. The valley covers an area of 1759 km².

The site reveals clues to explain the mysteries of the evolution of whales from a previous life as a terrestrial animal to the whale as an ocean-going mammal.

Wadi al-Hitan contains over 400 high-quality fossil skeletons of whales and other marine animals that lived in the area over 40 million years ago.

There are also fossils of mangrove trees and endangered animals such as white deer and red foxes. The area also includes rare birds such as the Saker falcon.

The Whale Valley has places to camp, bathrooms, corridors, and explanatory plates for the fossils.

A museum in Wadi al-Hitan is built in harmony with the valley’s natural environment. The museum includes a collection of fossils collected from the valley, restored, and displayed in the museum. There are officials to explain each part of the museum. The museum also offers a viewing room where a 12-minute film describes how fossils are discovered and extracted.

UNESCO added the Whale Valley to its list of World Heritage Sites in 2005.

Precautions to Take

If you are planning to visit Wadi al-Rayan, keep these tips in mind:

1. Get a map of the protected area, which is free of charge, at the main gate, which shows the roads and gates.
2. Try to commit to the main roads within the reserve and the guidelines.
3. Request information from the researchers of the reserve at the gates.
4. Try to have enough food and water.
5. Make sure the tank is full of gasoline in your car.
6. Have a first-aid bag, a protective sun hat, and an umbrella.
7. Write down the phone number of the protected emergency.
8. A person is notified of your movements due to the disruption of the telephone network in the desert.

Sources

• The State of Wadi El-Rayan Protected Area and Valley of the Whales World Heritage Site.
• www.sis.gov.eg… Natural Reserves of Egypt

©Eman Abdallah Kamel 2023

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