Wadi Bili in Hurghada's desert draws safari visitors as winter season nears

Wadi Bili, a valley in the desert about 30 kilometres northwest of Hurghada, is taking in geology enthusiasts, hikers and safari groups as the winter mountain-safari season approaches.

The valley lies behind Jebel Abu Shaar, facing El Gouna. Its floor mixes rock formations, fine sand and fossilised marine remains — traces of a time when parts of the area lay under the sea.

The cave the valley is known for is linked to formations estimated at around 600,000 years old. Stone tools, simple handmade objects and animal bones found within the valley, mostly near the cave, point to prehistoric human presence; researchers reading the available evidence place settlement there at roughly 30,000 to 70,000 years ago.

Bashar Abu Talib, head of the Red Sea tourist guides' syndicate, said the valley has built a following among geology enthusiasts, researchers and visitors from several countries, and gives Hurghada a chance to widen its tourism beyond beaches and marine activities.

Bedouin families living around the valley work in receiving safari trips. The area also lay on old salt routes, along which camel caravans carried salt from coastal production sites to the governorates of Upper Egypt.

Al-Masry Al-Youm argues that holding on to the valley's value needs set routes and visiting rules, a ban on disturbing rock formations or removing fossils and archaeological finds, and an assessment of the pressure from more safari trips. The name Bili is generally traced to an Arab tribe of that name, and its spelling varies between sources and maps.