Long ago, leopards, elephants and giraffes roamed the then lush wadis of the Eastern Desert. Prehistoric man recorded scenes of a wetter climate; his rock art, scattered in many places throughout this ancient desert, depicts the region’s now extinct animals. Today, although many of the animals are locally extinct due to desertification and human pressure, the Eastern Desert remains the part of Egypt that has the richest and most diverse wildlife. The cultural landscape is also diverse with four main tribes, the origins of which lie in sub-Saharan Africa and Arabia. Wadi Degla runs northwest from the mountains of the Eastern Desert to debouch into the Nile Valley at Maadi just south of Cairo. It travels through limestone country cutting a deep winding canyon in which floodwaters have carved the rock into spectacular shapes. Fifteen kilometers of the thirty-kilometer-long wadi and the adjoining area form the sixty square kilometers of the Wadi Degla Protected Area, declared in 1999. The Protectorate is intended to preserve the area and maintain a model of the varied habitats of the northern Eastern Desert. Wadi Degla is a part of the Eastern Desert and to comprehend its heritage, it is necessary to look beyond its boundaries and into the Eastern Desert. This comprehensive publication of Wadi Degla Protected Area, also introduces readers of all ages to the larger Eastern Desert region.