The area of Wadi el Gemal, whose name means « Valley of camels », was declared National Park in 2003, in order to preserve an extraordinary terrestrial and marine ecosystem, which is incredibly rich from a landscape, botanical, and wildlife viewpoint, and includes numerous archeological sites of great importance. Among these mountains, the famous emerald mines of the Pharaohs are hidden: the oldest in the world, and the only ones known before the New World was discovered. The Park of Wadi Gemal, still relatively unknown and rarely visited, is home to an important community of Ababda Beduins, who are trying preserve their ancient traditions. Inside the Park we find a variety of sites of great tourist interest, as well as sandy beaches, and shorelines fringed by coral reefs among the most beautiful and unspoiled in Egypt.
