Valley of the Whales (Wadi El Hitan)

Valley of the Whales (also known as Wadi El Hitan) is located in the Western Desert of Egypt. The valley contains invaluable fossil remains of an extinct suborder of whale, the Archaeoceti, which represents the emergence of the whale as an ocean-going mammal from a former land-based animal. Only about 1,000 visitors a year drive into the unmarked Wadi El Hitan. As part of the Wadi El Rayan Protected Area, visitors are restricted to prearranged guided tours along a prescribed trail. Some of the tours include stargazing of an unobstructed view of the night sky and Milky Way.