Wadi El Rayan

The lakes are recent: in the 1970s agricultural drainage water from the Faiyum was diverted into a natural desert depression, filling two basins at different levels, and the channel between them became a set of low waterfalls, the only ones in Egypt. Around this accidental wetland the desert does the rest of the work, with a field of crescent dunes marching across the plateau, a group of springs at Uyun al-Rayan, and the fossil-bearing beds that continue into neighbouring Wadi El Hitan. The protected area was declared in 1989 and covers well over a thousand square kilometres. Slender-horned gazelle and fennec fox live here, and the lakes carry good numbers of wintering birds. Weekend crowds concentrate entirely at the waterfalls; the rest is empty.

What you actually see

• The waterfalls between the lakes - low cascades, the only ones in the country.
• Crescent dunes - a barchan field crossing the plateau above the water.
• The Uyun al-Rayan springs - clear water in the desert south of the lakes.
• Wintering waterbirds - the lakes as a stop on the flyway.

When to go

October to April. Weekdays if you want the falls to yourself, since Fridays fill them with day trippers from Cairo and the Faiyum. A full day; camping is permitted in designated spots with a permit. Sunrise on the dunes is the best hour here.

Honest expectations

The waterfalls are low and much smaller than photographs suggest, and the picnic area around them is often littered. Reaching the dunes, springs and fossil areas needs four-wheel-drive and ideally a guide. There is no shade and no reliable water. Wildlife is present but very rarely seen.

Nearby

Wadi El Hitan continues south-west; Lake Qarun and Tunis village lie north-east.