Wadi El Gemal National Park

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Wadi El Gemal National Park or “Valley of the Camels”, is a vast coastal desert area located 45km south of Marsa Alam on the Red Sea and about a two hour drive from Marsa Alam airport. The park is home to prehistoric rock art, as well as Ptolemaic and Roman ruins, and the “Mons Smaragdus” mountain, home to small mining communities dating back to ancient Egypt.

Wadi El Gemal National Park
Wadi El Gemal is the third largest desert park in the Middle East and, due to its delta, is counted as one of the most beautiful national parks in Egypt. Officially inaugurated in May 2005, it spans a total of approximately 5,000 km2 including several islands, a mangrove-rich stretch of coastline and a vast inland mountainous area surrounding one of Egypt’s largest desert wadis. It also has a wide variety of plants and animals by desert standards.

Among the animals that inhabit the valley are the Nubian ibex, the Nubian ibex capra and the hyrax. Wild donkeys, camels and gazelles also abound in the region. The reef coast is considered approximately 17% of the marine life of the Red Sea, it presents reefs with 450 species of coral and more than 1200 species of fish.

The Wadi El Gemal channels water from the mountains to the coast, but some of it remains trapped underground, a key component of the area’s energetic biological system.

Its population are Bedouins from Ababda, usually nomads, many of whom continue to work herding sheep and goats. They are famous for their ability to follow the tracks of animals through the desert.

The Wadi has long been known as a mineral-rich area and the world’s most established emerald mine can be found here, dating back to pre-Roman times. There are also rich stores of gold and lead. Outside the National Park boundary is Egypt’s most profitable gold mine, at Sukari, some 23km west of Marsa Alam, near the road from the city to Edna on the coast.

What to see and do in Wadi El Gemal
The old emerald mining settlements can still be seen on an organized safari tour. The best known is the Roman settlement of Sakit, which they called Mons Smaragdus or Emerald Mountain. You can tour the town, see a temple dedicated to the god Isis carved into the rock and also visit the mines themselves.

The Roman city of Umm Kabu
Where the emeralds brought down from the mountains were prepared to be transported inland to the Nile, from where they were shipped north to Alexandria, before being shipped across the Mediterranean to Rome.

Wadi El Gamal Island
You can dive in its beautiful coral reefs, mari, crystal clear waters and amazing wildlife. It can be reached by boat from the diving center. The island is a haven for dugongs, tortoises and a wide variety of migratory seabirds, and has been designated an ‘Important Bird Area’ by Bird Life International.

To ensure the island’s fragile ecology, only twenty tourists are allowed to visit at a time for a maximum of three hours and only during daylight hours.

appollonia
Where you can see the ruins of an ancient Roman fortress.

Photos of Wadi El Gemal National Park

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