Sannur Valley Cave Protectorate - Beni Suef

Sannur Valley Cave Protectorate - Beni Suef

Sannur Valley Cave Protectorate is located in the Beni-Suef governorate of Egypt and lies just 10 km away from the city. Reaching the place is easy as one can drive here from Cairo which means two hours drive on road. The place has many geographical formations of stalactites and stalagmites as well. The reserve becomes even more important due to the natural formations present here many of which are rare and hard to find elsewhere. The reserve is filled with a large number of quarries dating back to different eras. Some of the quarries belong to the ancient period which was used at the time of pharaohs in Egypt and still others date back to the modern era and are more recently exploited.

The alabaster digging operations which is still continued, led to the discovery of 54 big cavities that opened way to the caves and were present at the bottom of the earth. The reserve has just one chamber or cave in it. The cave here extends to an area of 700 meters and has a depth and width of 15 meters respectively. The caves contain geographical formations which are referred as ups and downs. The most important feature of the natural formations is the quality and also the rare nature of these which are found nowhere else on the globe. The researchers and geologists thus find this reserve very important to learn and do conductive research and studies about the environmental and other conditions that prevailed during the ancient times.

More about the caves' formation

The Sannur caves in Egypt are a classical karst cave which was created due to the percolation of groundwater through the Eocene limestone of the Galala plateau. The caves are the best example of such kinds of caves in the entire country. When the percolation of water occurs in the downward direction the deposits of calcium carbonate on the roof and floor of the cave starts getting deposited resulting in the formation of spectacular stalagmites and stalactites in a number of forms. When light falls on such formations, it starts getting glittered as a wonderland. Above the ground one can also find here deposits of the red soil, terra rossa, which is associated with the formations alongside several shallow holes referred as dolines.

The Sannur Caves were discovered in the 1980s after a blasting in the quarry led to opening of an entrance way to the chamber. The cave is overlaid with alabaster that has been brought by the thermal springs and the chamber is made of limestone. The unique geography and natural formations make this place very popular and have helped the same get recognized as a protectorate by the prime minster decree in 1992.

The importance of the Sannur Cave

The quality and rareness of the natural formations found in the cave make this place a rarest one on earth. The place seems to be an ideal arena for researchers to conduct detailed and comparative studies which can help in getting a deeper understanding of the environmental conditions that were present during the ancient era.