Mount Sinai and St Catherine’ Monastery Trip

About this tour

Overview

An overnight trip from Sharm El Sheikh to Mount Sinai, the mountain most commonly identified with the biblical Mount Horeb, where Moses is said to have received the Ten Commandments. You are collected in the evening, driven across Sinai, climb through the night, and watch the sun come up from the summit. On the way back you visit St Catherine’s Monastery, which sits at the foot of the mountain.

How the night runs

Pickup from your hotel in Sharm El Sheikh is at 8:30 pm, and the drive takes around three hours. The climb normally starts at about 2:00 am so that you reach the top before first light – sunrise from the summit is the whole point of the trip, and it is why the timing is fixed rather than flexible.

There are two ways up. Most of the route follows a wide camel path that switchbacks steadily, and the final section is a long flight of stone steps cut into the rock. The Bedouin guide who climbs with you knows the path and sets a pace the group can hold. You reach the summit at around 7:00 am.

St Catherine’s Monastery

On the way down you visit the monastery at the base of the mountain, one of the oldest continuously inhabited Christian monasteries in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It holds a collection of early manuscripts and icons. The visit is included, and the entrance fee to the St Catherine National Park area is covered.

What is included

• Pickup and return to your hotel in Sharm El Sheikh.
• All transfers in an air-conditioned vehicle.
• Entrance fees to St Catherine National Park.
• A Bedouin guide during the climb.
• All service charges and taxes.

Who it suits

Anyone reasonably mobile. It is a long night rather than a technical climb – no equipment and no experience are needed – but you will be walking uphill in the dark for several hours, and the summit is cold. If you have knee trouble or a heart condition, think carefully before booking.

What to bring

• Warm clothing. It is genuinely cold at the summit before sunrise, even when Sharm is warm.
• Comfortable closed walking shoes with grip for the stone steps.
• Water and a light snack for the climb.
• A torch or headlamp, and a camera for the sunrise.

If you would like the full background on the mountain, the monastery and what the walk involves, see our guide to Mount Sinai and St Catherine.

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