Finding Serenity While Trekking Egypt's Rugged Sinai Trails

"Egypt's Sinai can seem like an endless expanse of rugged mountains and desert. On its southern tip, it's home to Sharm El Sheikh, the beach resort town famed for its diving sites, luxury hotels, restaurants, and nightlife; and the more laid-back Dahab, which lies an hour's drive to the north. But the rest of the triangular peninsula-an area larger than Switzerland, framed by the Mediterranean to the north and hugged by the Red Sea 's two gulfs to the south-is less explored."

"Sinai has significance in Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. The story of the Exodus begins with Moses fleeing to Sinai as a fugitive, where he encounters the Burning Bush through which God commands him to return to Egypt and free the Israelites from slavery. The sixth-century Saint Catherine's Monastery -the world's oldest continuously functioning Christian monastery-sits at the foot of Mount Sinai, known locally as Jebel Musa, and preserves sacred manuscripts and icons."

"On my first hike to explore Sinai four years ago, my family and I left our hotel in Dahab in the middle of the night to reach Saint Catherine's Monastery, starting our three-mile ascent to the top of Mount Sinai at one in the morning. From there, we made the steep climb to the top of the summit-a mile and a half above sea level, and where Moses is said to have received the Ten Commandments-in time to watch the sunrise."

Sinai features expansive rugged mountains and desert with developed resort towns at its southern tip and vast, less-explored interior terrain. The peninsula holds deep religious importance across Islam, Christianity, and Judaism, including the Exodus narrative and Mount Sinai/Jebel Musa. The sixth-century Saint Catherine's Monastery near the mountain preserves sacred manuscripts and icons and has long been protected by the local Jebeliya tribe. Previous pre-dawn ascents to Mount Sinai deliver dramatic sunrise views but attract large crowds. Local Bedouin-led trekking groups offer smaller, more authentic hiking and camping experiences under the stars on unmarked paths around the monastery.

Read at Conde Nast Traveler