Egypt Hiking and Trekking information, tours, prices and online booking
Egypt Hiking and Trekking include many sites which offer great chances to the tourists. The Sinai is arguably the best hiking and trekking destination in the Middle East- definitely the best rock climbing in Egypt. The mountains, canyons and valleys of the Sinai are perfect for environmentally friendly activities such as hiking and trekking. Contact Bedouins in the Sinai before you go – you can’t go wrong when your guide knows the desert like the back of his hand. Warning, local guides can set up base camps and provide camel transport but you have to bring your own equipment. Bedouins can also rate the difficulty of each hiking site but they do not assume any responsibility for your safety. You have to be experienced and know your limits.
Drive or hike up to the mountains of Dist, Al-Maghrafa and Ghurabi. Gebel Dist has a remarkable view of palm trees surrounded by dunes. Gebel Al-Maghrafa, known as a prehistoric site of dinosaur remains, has a camel breeding farm which welcomes visitors. Gebel Ghurabi is a great location for a short hike or a picnic. Located a few kilometers from St. Catherine’s Monastery, the Blue Desert is a 14 km2 area were rock formations in the desert were painted by Jean Vera Me in 1980 to commemorate the peace between Egypt and Israel following the 1979 Camp David Peace Accord. The contrast between the yellowish-brown sandstone and the blue painted rocks looks like an extremely vivid desert mirage.
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Gebel Abu Mahashur poses a challenging ascent and descent on its red granite dome with its big, smooth surface. To reach and hike up Gebel Abu Mahashur, you’ll need to hire Bedouin guides to set up a base camp at the foot of a garden. They can also provide transportation, food and beverages. Gebel Ansila is a great place to set up a base camp for several hiking excursions in the Sinai mountains. There are plenty of routes that pose different challenges on the ascent and descent. The sight of the valley bellow is breathtaking as you hike Gebel Ansila. Local Bedouins offer guides and cooks for hire as well as tents and camels. Like Gebel Abu Mahashur, Gebel Al-Banat has challenging red granite dome that’s over 40m long. You’ll have to hire Bedouin guides to set up a base camp at the base of the mountain. They also provide transportation, food and beverages.
Bedouin guides can recommend several routes that vary in difficulty to reach the peak of Ras Safsafa. Towering over a Bedouin village,Ras Safsafa offers and excellent view of the mountains of Sinai. The sight of Mount Sinai at the other end of the massif is stunning. Local Bedouin guides offer transportation before and after your hike. Most Sinai travel agencies and hotels will be able to connect you with Bedouin guides, who own durable 4X4s or camels for transportation. Wadi Feiran is a valley containing the Sinai’s largest and most lush oasis. It is a beautiful area filled with palm trees and inhabited by Bedouins, which are watched over by the mountains in their different hues.
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This Wadi features heavily in the Old Testament and is reportedly where the Prophet Moses struck a rock with his staff to bring forth water for his people during the exodus (At the Western entrance to the oasis); you can also visit Mt. Tahoun where Moses purportedly surveyed the war with the Amelecites. Wadi Ghazala is a great trekking destination into a Sinai hinterland that has plenty of caves, dunes and acacia trees on the valley floor. In Wadi Ghazala you can experience the desert, hike up a rugged mountain and camp in the nearby oasis of Ain Khudra with Bedouins. You can reach the Ghazala Valley from Dahab or Nuweiba. It will take you less than an hour by 4X4.
Here you’ll find some of the most stunning scenery the Western Desert has to offer. Uwainat, known as Gebel Uwainat, is a 1900 meters high mountain that looms over the valley of Karkur Talh. The valley is named after the acacia trees which still grow there. The valley is definitely worth a visit. There are many rock art paintings and engravings to see in the valley. The Colored Canyon in Sharm El Sheikh is the most beautiful canyon in Egypt, and as nature would have it, the canyon is also the easiest to reach and trek. The high iron content in the sandstone, water erosion and wind created the great spectrum of colors you’ll find as you navigate the Colored Canyon.
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Trekking the Colored Canyon begins at Ain Furtaga Oasis, it takes a little more than an hour to reach the canyon from Sharm El Sheikh, a couple of hours of walk through the canyon with light climbing along the way. Discover an uninhabited oasis in the midst of magnificent dunes, hidden from the south by massive limestone cliffs. Quench your thirst after a long safari in the charming spring located in the middle of the oasis. El-Arag has breathtaking views of the surrounding desert. The oasis also boasts rich archaeological remains; artefacts, shards of pottery and two rock-cut tombs that have astonishing engravings.
One of the natural wonders of the Sinai, the Colored Canyon in Taba, can be visited from Taba. It’s a maze of sandstone rocks in hues of yellow, purple, red, magenta and gold reaching up in some places a height of 40 meters. The uneven forms and height of the rocks sometimes make climbing necessary, so be prepared and try to get there as early as possible, not only because of the weather, but also to avoid the crowds. Although you might agree that the magic of the place is best enjoyed when you’re on your own, you will have to take a guided tour to the Canyon.
