I’m heading to Egypt in a few weeks! I have 5 days in and around Cairo before a cruise down to Aswan.
I’ll already be doing a day trip to Alexandria, a day trip to Saqqara, Memphis & Dashur, and a day in Cairo to see Coptic and Islamic Cairo, so I have a free day before I go to Giza/GEM.
I’m debating whether to go out to Fayoum, or have another day in the city to look at some of the other museums.
I really like the look of the whale valley out near Fayoum, and thought this would be a chance to see a different side of Egypt, but I have been to some pretty cool desert scapes before (India, Chile, Australia), so I’m not sure whether this is really worth it or not.
Has anyone been out there and can tell me what they think? Or alternatively if there are any other must-see Museums in Cairo other than GEM that you don’t think I should skip?
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I never got an answer to this - but I did end up making a last minute decision to include this in part of this tour.
So for anyone else who come across this post - here is my view:
Yes - for me this was a highlight and absolutely worth it!
- The 4x4 drive was really fun! Up and down some steep dunes, verticle rocks and to some great view points!
- Sandboarding was also fun (although I was terrible at it), the sand is so soft you can fall and tumble and feel nothing!
- The oasis view and magice lake were cool to see out in the desert
- It is vast - I’ve been to deserts before, but this felt special
The absolute highlight and reason I wanted to go was Wadi Al-Hitan aka Whale Valley. It is spectacular! There are whale fossils everywhere, and a great little center when you arrive at the site with a video showing what this might have looked like 40 million years ago as a shallow ocean which really helped you visualise it when walking around.
The fossils in this center showing that whales used to have hands and feet - insane! They used to be land mammals and became sea creatures but for a while they still hand small hands and feet, it’ just mind blowing!
Then walking around the desert and seeing these fossils and imagining a whole other world when this used to be ocean was unreal and deeply special to me.
Even my partner who didnt expect much was in awe and said he loved it. The only tip I would have if you are going and the main draw is the whale valley - let your guides know up front thats where you want to spend your time. There were a lot of places to go and see and we didn’t have a huge amount of time there, but then had plenty of time at the stops for oasis, lake etc - which only really needed a quick 5 minute view.
Also the ‘waterfall’ is not worth the stop on the way back in my opinion (although it was 45 mins, don’t expect too much of this it’s just a small ‘manmade coincidence’ water fall - they did have some nice Bedouin markets stalls there though and the view over the lake there was nice!
Overall - a great break from the city to see a completely different side of rural Egypt, the Sahara, and the fossils which will be like nothing else you have ever seen!
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@ck_explorer1000 We didn’t end up going ourselves, but after seeing your photos, it definitely looks worth it.
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