Step inside Egypt’s strangest caves

CAIRO – 20November 2017: It is known that Egypt owns natural beauty and unique historical places that impress visiting guests from all over the world. But, this article is a news flash for all guests and backpackers.

Egypt shelters a lot of marvelous caves dating back more than 7,000 years and distributed throughout Egypt’s deserts and archeological sites. There are examples of rocky formations and prehistoric cave paintings. These sites are the following:

1- Djara Cave:


View to the Foggeni Cave hill, Western Desert – Wikimedia Website – 11 March 2011

This rocky cave situated in the Western Desert in Egypt is 30 meters wide, 8 meters high. It was rediscovered twice, initially by German explorer Gerhard Rohlfs, and then rediscovered in 1989 by Dr. Carlo Bergmann, who explored the area by camel.

It is highlighted by the presence of the pure water and animal engravings from the Neolithic period, which classifies the cave to be the second most important stone-age settlement in the Western Desert.


Djara cave 3

2- Sannur Cave:


Hand printing on the wall of Foggni Cave - Wikimedia Website – Undated

It is located 10 km from the city of Beni Suef, which is a 2-hour drive from Cairo.

It was created by percolation of groundwater through the Eocene Lime stone of the Galala Plateau.

Inside the cave there are several shallow holes, but above the ground there are deposits of red soil, unlike the floor, which has excess calcium carbonate as a result of water percolation.


Sannur Cave - Underground Wonderland

3- Foggeni Cave:


Paintings of Headless Beasts in Foggeni Cave – Wikimedia Website – Undated

This cave is considered by archeologists to be one of the most important rock art sites in the whole deserted area. It takes its name from Italian explorer Jaccop Foggeni, who discovered the cave in 2002. It is located in the Western Desert next to Wadi Sora shelter.

The cave is about 20 meters high with a single panel in it 10 meters high. It has various kinds of paintings: prehistoric graffiti, paintings of “headless beasts”, and thousands of small hand prints. It is also known as the Cave of Beasts.