Sinai Trek

Day 1
Start Cairo.

Day 2
This morning we have an early start as we leave the hectic city of Cairo behind us. We meet the Gulf of Suez and follow the Sinai coast heading down to the city of Abu Zenima. Here we meet our friendly Bedouin guides who give us an insight into trekking in the desert. We then head off-road to the area of Sarabit El Khadem. This is an interesting journey as we pass ancient mining sites, colourful mountains and dunes. Finally we start trekking to reach the camp for the night in the Jebel Sarabit area (time of trekking: 45 mins).

Day 3
An early morning start to begin our trek to the summit of Jebel Sarabit (850m). Our aim is to reach an ancient Egyptian temple situated on the top of the mountain, dedicated to Hathor, the goddess of love, beauty and music. Here we have the opportunity to admire the impressive views of the vast Sinai landscape (the views here are outstanding!) and tour the ancient temple. We also visit some ancient turquoise mines, which were used during the Pharonic period. As we reach the bottom of the mountain the 4x4s will be waiting to take us past the El Mokatab Moutain and on to Wadi Ferran where we will stop for lunch. On the way to the lunch stop there is also the opportunity to visit The Forest of Pillars (however, this portion of the trip is subject to cancellation due to weather conditions as sandstorms have been known to affect the area). We will then pass the El Sheikh Awad Mosque graves before reaching our stop for the evening, Wadi Jebal (time of trekking: 3.5 hours).

Day 4
In the morning our 4x4s will head off with our luggage to our camp for the evening as we begin our trek to Wadi Tellah. As we reach Wadi Tellah we will stop off at Dr.Ahmed's herbal garden, where rare flowers and herbs, indigenous to the Sinai area, are grown. These herbs and flowers are all used in creating unique herbal remedies that are used to help cure ailments of the Bedouins that live in the Sinai area. If you are lucky, Dr.Ahmed will be there himself to discuss his work with you and what the various benefits of these herbal remedies are. After lunch at the garden we trek on towards the Sefsafa Mountain situated in the area of St. Catherine's Monastery. Finally reaching the base of this mountain we will arrive at the Fox Camp, where we will overnight (time of trekking: 4 hours).

Day 5
This morning we spend time at the fascinating St. Catherine's monastery that sits at the foot of Mount Sinai. After a lunch back at the Fox Camp we then begin our trek to Wadi El Arbeen, where we camp for the night (time of trekking: 2 hours).

Day 6
We rise in the very early hours of the morning (sometimes as early as 12am!) and head to Mount Moses. On reaching the foot of the mountain, we start our 3-hour climb of the fabled mountain. We reach the summit (2285m) for sunrise. The views over the Sinai, especially in the light of dawn, are breathtaking. We then head back down the mountain for breakfast at the Wadi El Arbeen camp. After breakfast there are two options of trek offered as the Mount Sinai climb can be tiring. The first is a long trek that passes the Red Mountain, Wadi Shak an Abo Gifa before returning to the Fox Camp (time of trekking: 6 hours). Alternatively there is a shorter trek that heads straight from Wadi El Arbeen back to the Sefsafa mountain, also to the Fox Camp (time of trekking: 2 hours).

Day 7
Today we begin our journey out of the Sinai region and back to Cairo. In the afternoon there will be time to relax after a rewarding week of trekking in the Sinai.

Day 8
End Cairo.