The view from the top of Mount Sinai is jaw-dropping. Endless jagged mountains and vast desert as far as the eye can see. If you happen to be at the top with the soft light of sunrise or sunset, then it becomes even more magical.
Most people visit for sunrise, however it requires a midnight pick up and means you’re almost guaranteed to be up there with lots of other people. Preferring solitude and sleep, we opted for sunset and it was breathtaking - and there were just a handful of other people at the top.
The walk is steep in places, but the trail is in excellent condition and there are drink stops galore.
Here’s everything you need to know about climbing Mount Sinai (also known as Moses Mountain), starting with tips and followed by detailed trail notes.
Tips for climbing Mount Sinai
I’ll put this one at the top because it’s the most important thing to know: you must carry your passport with you to get through all the checkpoints to the trailhead. Even if you have the permit and everything in order you still need to show your passport.
There are various routes you can use to climb Mount Sinai, but the most common way up is from St Catherine’s Monastery.
The two paths that leave from the monastery are the Camel Path and the Steps of Repentance. The Camel Path is a wide straightforward track, whereas the Steps of Repentance are much much steeper, and parts of the track are now very rough and rustic. Both trails converge near the end for the final 750 steps to the top.
The Steps of Repentance are officially closed. At least for the descent. We asked to climb them and were told no, but later found out that some guides will still take you. If you’re interested, send us an email or comment below and we’ll put you in touch with someone who can help you organise this.
You will need to take a Bedouin guide to climb either route.
A camel will follow you to around the halfway mark, hoping you might decide it’s all too much. You can hire them at any point and they can take you as far as the last 950m, which requires you to then climb 750 steps to the top. We didn’t want to take a camel, but asked the price for the purposes of this blog and were told 450 EGP (USD $18). No doubt you can haggle.
There are many kiosks along the Camel Path where you can take a break and buy drinks and snacks on the way up. There’s even a kiosk at the very top.
At the top you can rent blankets if you need to wait around for sunrise or sunset and are feeling cold. The hot chocolate goes down a treat too. If you want to spend the night on the mountain, you can even hire mattresses and buy a cooked dinner and brekkie. Blankets cost USD $3, it’s the same again for mattresses and if you want to be fully catered for and have the blanket and mattress it’s 600 EGP (USD $24). Snacks such as chocolates bars and hot drinks are 40 EGP, roughly USD $1.60.
Sunset is much quieter than sunrise, and it’s also quiet during the day time if you’re visiting in the cooler months and don’t mind walking in the heat of the day.
Even if you don’t want to go on a group tour as we didn’t, you’ll still probably want to book a private tour so they can help with the permit and getting through all the check points.
Technically speaking, when leaving the Mount Sinai area, foreigners must travel in a convoy. These convoys leave every two hours on the hour. On our visit they left at 4pm, 6pm, 8pm etc. In practice you may be able to leave without the convoy, but it depends on your driver and also if you are happy not to be part of the convoy. The convoys were set up for security reasons, although there have been no issues in the area in recent years.
There are many toilets all the way up the mountain and at least some are western. They are very basic and you’ll want to BYO toilet paper. Alternatively, there are flush toilets at the car park, but I’d still bring toilet paper because it’s hit and miss whether they have any. They aren’t the nicest toilets but they’re not terrible either. They have bars of soap you can use.
There’s nowhere to eat beside the trailhead, but there are a few basic restaurants in the nearby village of St Catherine.
The Mount Sinai Trail
As mentioned, we were told the Camel Path was the only route we could use, so we hiked it both ways. If you have the choice then it would be better to make a circuit with the Steps of Repentance, as they are said to have the better views.
If you’re hiking for sunset, go up the steps and down the Camel Path, as you’ll want an easier decent in the dark. If not, we’d usually choose to go up the steeper track and down the shallower one to save our knees!
The stats
Distance: 12km return via the Camel Path from the car park
Elevation gain: 725m
Difficulty: Moderate
Starting the trail at St Catherine’s Monastery
We saw lots of conflicting distances for the Mount Sinai hike and we discovered afterwards that it was probably because some people don’t count the walk to and from the the car park to the monastery. Considering you do have to walk it, we included it in our stats.
The monastery is 750m from the car park, along a paved path. It’s ever so slightly uphill, but not enough to really feel it. After you pass the monastery, you’ll briefly hit a cobbled path, but it soon smooths out again.
Just 200m beyond the monastery, and 950m from the car park, you’ll reach the trailhead for the Camel Path. There’s a big sign with all the stats.
It’s worth noting that you couldn’t possibly go wrong with directions when walking the Camel Path, it’s signposted all the way and has markers as you pass each kilometre.
I think they have brought in the mandatory Bedouin guide policy to bring more employment to the area. Although we always prefer to walk without a guide, ours was very friendly, happy to walk at whatever pace we wanted and even let us (in fact suggested) we stop for star gazing on the way back down!
The climb begins
Not long after you begin heading up the Camel Path you’ll see plenty of camels, and as mentioned one will almost certainly follow you halfway up the track hoping you might give in.
The dirt track is very well graded and though there are some small stones and rocks, it’s pretty smooth and easy underfoot.
Just 800m from the start of the proper track, you’'ll get your first view of Mount Sinai. After this you’ll hit the 1km marker and from here the track gets steeper.
To make up for it, the views get better and better. If you’re going to be walking down in the dark make sure you turn around for lots of photos because the view is much better behind you.
After you’ve been walking for another 1.4km, the path will steepen again. There are plenty of places to stop for drinks and some shade if needed just 200m from here. They continue right the way to the top.
Things gets steeper
You’ll pass several more kiosks and a few toilets as you continue up the well maintained path. The trail zigzags uphill with some beautiful views out to the neighbouring valley, which was echoing with the sound of the call to prayer on our visit. This made the uphill slog incredibly atmospheric.
Just under 4km along the Camel Path, and 4.7km from the car park, you’ll come to the point of no return for camels.
You can stop watching your feet for camel poo and wait for the views to get better and better. At this point you’ve climbed 500m of the 725m elevation needed to reach the top, so you’ve more than broken the back of the climb.
There’s roughly 300m of regular track before you reach the final 750 stairs. There’s one little section which goes through narrow cliffs walls and has some loose gravel that can be a little slippery, but it’s otherwise straightforward.
After that you’ll pass the junction with the Steps of Repentance and then begin the steepest part of the walk. The next 950m is all relentless stairs, but there are plenty of big rocks to sit on and take a break if needed.
The views are also sensational, especially if you’re walking just before sunset, as the valley below is bathed in golden light.
Just below the summit you’ll see more kiosks and a sign for a toilet. Take a peek past the sign to see the toilet itself which must be one of the most scenic loo locations we’ve ever seen!
Just 200m of steep steps later you’ll arrive at the very top.
The Mount Sinai summit
The summit area is pretty big, it’s even got a small church (which you can’t go in) and a small mosque (which you can).
However, it’s the views that will blow you away. It was just spectacular in every direction, but most of all at the western end where there were layers upon layers of jagged peaks.
The light at sunset was almost ethereal. It went from gold to pink to purple, which created the most magical scene.
Witnessing that sunset over the mountains with barely another soul around, and a huge amount of room to find your own private spot, is something I’ll never forget.
You can walk around the summit and out over to a huge boulder pile if you want to get even closer to the view.
I found it pretty hilarious there’s also yet another toilet at the top! Pretty sure I haven’t encountered a mountain top loo before.
If you’re going to be at the summit for a while it’s worth buying a hot drink from the lovely kiosk owner at the top. It’s the perfect way to see in the sunrise or sunset.
Descending Mount Sinai
When you’re ready to descend, it’s best to take the Camel Path, which is an easy descent after the first 750 stairs. It’s best to do those in the twilight if you can as they’re quite uneven. We ended up coming down in the dark and I wished we’d left just a fraction earlier.
After you’re past the stairs, the path is very straightforward. The descent does feel quite long at 6km, but at least you don’t have to worry about terrain. There are many places you can stop for stargazing along the way. There’s a little light pollution in the area, but you can still see the Milky Way!
The toilets at the car park will be closed when you get there if you’re coming down after sunset, so use the ones on the mountain if needed.
Mount Sinai at sunset (logistics with visiting St Catherine’s Monastery)
If you are planning a sunset visit, and also want to see St Catherine’s Monastery, then it’s not quite as seamless as going for sunrise (but worth it!). The monastery closes at 11.30am (do check in case this changes) so you have a bit of a wait before you can start hiking for sunset. We chose to head to St Catherine’s village for a leisurely lunch and then begin hiking at 2pm.
Although you will be waiting around, at least it’s in the village where the temperatures are warm. You’d spend longer waiting for the sun to rise on top of the mountain where it’s cold if you do it the traditional way (as they start you hiking so early).
Getting to Mount Sinai
Whether you’re coming from Dahab, Taba or Sharm el Sheikh you’ll need to pass many checkpoints to reach St Catherine’s Monastery and the mountain. You will also need a permit (as you do to visit almost any location in the Sinai). For these reasons it’s easiest to book your trip through a tour operator. Ours was essentially a taxi service, but organised through a tour operator and all permissions etc were done for us.
You could probably hire a taxi who can help with paperwork and pay the Bedouin guide when you get there, which would save some money. However despite me asking many, many people if this was the case the language barrier was such that we couldn’t get an answer we felt confident about. Of course if you ask a tour operator they will say book through them, so it’s a tough one.
To be honest, for ease, I would just organise the trip through a tour operator and at least you know you won’t get stopped, or have any issues in getting there.
Prices for group tours vary, but as there are some options for big groups they can be quite cheap. Private tours, especially if you go against the grain for sunset, are more expensive. Opening prices tended to be about USD $100 from Dahab, which included the Bedouin guide and transport. Of course you can barter, but this was a standard opening price. We were picked up at 8am and returned at 8.30pm, so it’s a long, but very worthwhile day.
Where to stay
Le Meridien, Dahab
Le Meridien is an oasis of tranquility in Dahab, it was perfectly quiet - which is incredibly rare in Egypt. As it’s set a little way out of town, it means you’re away from the hustle and bustle, but the drive in only takes 10 minutes and costs about 50 EGP ($2 USD) one way - do not use the hotel’s taxi service though which is very over priced. You’ll want to grab the number of a driver from town and then call or Whatsapp them for lifts.
The deluxe rooms are comfy, quiet, spacious and some come with an outdoor shower, which was my absolute favourite way to end the day. The resort also has 3 pools (2 saltwater, 1 fresh), its own beach and pretty grounds. It’s one of the best hotels we stayed in in Egypt and if you visit out of peak season, you can snag a great deal.
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