Lake Qarun

What kind of lake is Lake Qarun?

Lake Qarun, Birket Qarun in Arabic, is a closed, salty lake with no outlet: water arrives as drainage from Fayoum's fields and leaves only by evaporation, so it has grown steadily saltier over the past century. Its surface sits around 43 metres below sea level, and the cliffs of the Western Desert rise sharply behind its bare northern shore while palms and farmland run down to the southern one.

In antiquity it was far larger. Greek writers called it Lake Moeris, and Middle Kingdom kings such as Amenemhat III managed the flow of Nile water into it through the Bahr Yusuf canal. As the lake shrank over the centuries, towns that once stood on its shore, such as Soknopaiou Nesos (Dimeh), were left high and dry in the desert. Today the lake supports a fishery of mullet and sole introduced from the Mediterranean, and its water quality and rising salinity are real concerns for the fishermen who depend on it.

Birdwatching on the lake

Lake Qarun is one of the best and most accessible birdwatching sites near Cairo, and the time to come is from November to March, when wintering waterbirds gather in large numbers. The lake is a protected area and lies on the migration route between Europe and Africa that funnels birds down the Nile valley.

Species you can reasonably hope to see include great crested and black-necked grebes, cormorants, grey herons and little egrets, black-winged stilts, Kentish plovers and a variety of gulls and terns; in some winters greater flamingos and ducks such as shoveler gather in the shallows. Spur-winged lapwings, kingfishers and Senegal thick-knees are found around the edges all year.

The best way to see them is from a local fishing boat at first light, drifting along the reed-fringed southern shore for an hour or two, with binoculars and a long lens if you have them. Your guide can arrange a boat with fishermen near Shakshouk or the Tunis area. Keen birders should pair the lake with the Wadi el-Rayan lakes and read our birdwatching in Egypt guide.

Qasr Qarun: the temple at the western end

Qasr Qarun is a remarkably intact sandstone temple of the late Ptolemaic period, probably dedicated to the crocodile god Sobek, standing at the edge of the ruined Graeco-Roman town of Dionysias near the lake's western tip. From outside it looks like a plain block, but inside a maze of small chambers, corridors and stairways leads up through two storeys to the roof, from which you look out over the mounds of the town and the remains of a Roman fort built to guard the desert road to the oases.

Bring a torch: the inner passages are pitch dark, and part of the fun is finding your way through them. Allow 45 minutes to an hour. The crocodile cult was strong right across the Fayoum, where the Greek capital was even called Crocodilopolis; our guide to Sobek explains why.

Other sights around the shore

The north shore, reached by 4WD across the desert, has two more ancient sites that few visitors see: the unfinished temple of Qasr el-Sagha and the town of Dimeh.

• Qasr el-Sagha: a small, undecorated temple of finely fitted blocks, usually dated to the Middle Kingdom, in a lonely spot below the escarpment.
• Dimeh (Soknopaiou Nesos): the mud-brick walls and processional way of a Ptolemaic and Roman town dedicated to Sobek, once on an island or peninsula in the lake.
• The escarpment beyond: the Gebel Qatrani area is famous among palaeontologists for fossils of early primates and land mammals.

These need a specialist driver and are worth it only if you have a strong interest in the period. On the south shore, the obvious combination is the pottery village of Tunis, on the ridge above the water.

When to go and how to fit it in

Come between October and April, start at dawn for birds and light, and combine the lake with Qasr Qarun and Tunis village for a relaxed half-day or a full day from Cairo. The lakeside road can be busy with Cairo families on Fridays and public holidays, so weekdays are calmer. Summer is hot and hazy, though breezes off the water help.

A sample day from Giza: leave at 6am, reach the lake by about 8am for a boat trip, drive west to Qasr Qarun late morning, then lunch and a wander in Tunis before heading back. With a night in Fayoum you can add Wadi el-Hitan the next morning. Our Fayoum Oasis guide covers other sights in the basin.

Tickets and tips

The lake shore is free to visit, boat trips are arranged privately with fishermen, and Qasr Qarun has its own antiquities ticket. Check current monument tickets and hours on egymonuments.gov.eg.

• Don't swim near the southern drains or the town: water quality varies.
• Agree on the boat trip's length and price before you board; your guide can help.
• Pack binoculars, a hat and a light jacket for chilly early mornings on the water.