Wadi Al-Hitan is located in the “Garet of Hell” area in the northwest of the Wadi Al-Rayyan Reserve, and includes fossilized remains dating back about 40 million years of fossilized skeletons of primitive whales, shark teeth, shells and other extinct marine animals. The valley is an open museum, and the fossilized remains that it holds represent one of the most prominent stages of the evolution of whales from land mammals to marine mammals. In July 2005, UNESCO decided at the meeting of the World Heritage Committee hosted by the city of Durban, South Africa, to register the area in the list of nature reserves as the first Egyptian natural site to be registered on the list as a world natural heritage, because the discovery of the valley helped scientists to know the stages of the evolution of the life of this mammal.

On January 14, 2016, the Museum of Fossils and Climate Change was opened in the Whale Valley Reserve. It was established by the United Nations Development Program in cooperation with the Egyptian government and with the support of the Italian government within a set of measures being implemented to support the preservation of natural reserves and encourage eco-tourism. The museum displays the whale “Al-Basilo Source Isis”, the largest fossilized whale, in addition to a unique collection of vertebrate fossils of scientific value in that region, which shows the transformation of the Whale Valley as a result of climate change from sea to desert over millions of years. The museum is the first of its kind in the Middle East, and is distinguished by its architectural design in keeping with the nature of the place.