Menu

Tips for Hiking Mount Sinai in Egypt

Did you know you can hike to the top of Mount Sinai? Also known as Mount Moses, according to the Bible Mount Sinai is the place where Moses received the Ten Commandments. Hiking Mount Sinai takes about 4 hours and can be easily done on a day trip. But if you want to have the best experience, you really need to read this post first!

Mount Sinai

Where Is Mount Sinai?

Mount Sinai is in Egypt on the Sinai Peninsula, near Saint Catherine’s Monastery in Qesm Sharm Ash Sheikh, Egypt. It is 7,497ft high (2,285 meters) and is next to Mount Catherine, which is the highest peak in Egypt.

What Happened at Mount Sinai in the Bible?

According to Exodus 34, Mount Sinai is where God gave Moses the Ten Commandments.

Be ready in the morning, and then come up on Mount Sinai. Present yourself to me there on top of the mountain.
– Exodus 34:2

Moses was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant – the Ten Commandments.
– Exodus 34:28

Mount Sinai

Hiking Mount Sinai – Everything You Need to Know

Where Does the Mount Sinai Hike Start?

The hike to the top of Mount Sinai starts at Saint Catherine’s Monastery. The monastery is about 3 hours north of Sharm El-Sheikh, a popular resort town on the Red Sea. You can hike Mount Sinai as a day trip from Sharm El-Sheikh.

Mount Sinai

How Long Does it take to Hike Mount Sinai?

It took us about 4 hours total to hike Mount Sinai — 2 hours to go up, 1 hour at the top, and 1 hour to come back down.

Mount Sinai

There Are Two Hiking Trails at Mount Sinai

The Camel Trail

The hike to the top of Mount Sinai is 3 miles one way. Starting from the monastery, you will hike 2.5 miles up the “Camel Trail” — a steady, but not-too-steep incline. The trail is wide and well-worn. It’s called the Camel Trail because it’s wide and flat enough to ride a camel. There are many places to stop for views and rest along the way. The last 1/2 mile is 750 stone steps up to the top of the mountain.

The Steps of Repentance

You will come down a different trail than you took up. The path down is 3,750 stone steps known as the Steps of Repentance. Where does the name of this trail come from? According to legend, the steps were made by a single monk in repentance for a sin he committed. Thus every step on the trail is a symbol of his repentance.

These are easy trails to hike! Remember Moses was 80 when he hiked to the top of Mount Sinai. ;)

Mount Sinai

Group Tours to Hike Mount Sinai

Most people hike Mount Sinai with a tour group. The tours all start at NIGHT. They pick you up from your hotel at about 9 PM. You drive 3 hours to the monastery, then start the hike in the middle of the night so you can be at the top for sunrise, just like Moses. The trail is usually crowded with hundreds of tourists and camels carrying those who don’t want to hike.

Some people hike slower than others, so the tours start super early to give everyone plenty of time to reach the top before sunrise. So you could be waiting at the top for an hour or more in pitch darkness waiting for sunrise. And since you’re in the middle of the desert, in the middle of the night, it’s going to be cold!

I’ll be honest. This did not sound appealing to us in any way.

I didn’t want to give up a night’s sleep, I didn’t want to hike on a crowded trail in the middle of the night, and I didn’t want to wait in the freezing dark for sunrise. We therefore decided not to hike Mount Sinai with a group tour.

Mount Sinai

The Best Way to Hike Mount Sinai: During The Day With A Private Tour!

We wanted to find a way to hike Mount Sinai during the day. But since all the group tours left at night, we had to look for a private tour. At first we heard a lot of conflicting information about hiring a private tour and hiking Mount Sinai during the day.

Many places would not take us – they only did group tours at night. Some said you couldn’t do the hike during the day at all. Some said we could only leave super early in the morning, like 7 AM. I wanted to leave closer to 9-10 AM, after breakfast.

Mount Sinai

Finally we found a private tour company that would take us during the day, and I’m SO glad we did. We had the entire trail and top of the mountain completely to ourselves in beautiful, sunny weather with amazing views. Talk about a huge difference compared to what our experience would have been going with a group tour!

The views on this hike are SO incredible, I can’t imagine missing them by hiking in darkness at night!

Choose a Reputable Private Tour Company

It’s better to visit Mount Sinai with a reputable private tour company instead of trying to go on your own (renting a car or hiring a taxi for example). Why? Because you need permission from the government. This is an important piece of information to know!

There are many checkpoints where they are stopping cars and checking passports. The tour company will handle all of this and get all the permissions for you. It would be a shame to get all the way to a checkpoint and be turned back.

Mount Sinai
750 Steps of Repentance to reach the top of Mount Sinai

How We Hiked Mount Sinai with a Private Tour Company

We went to Mount Sinai with Gazef. They picked us up from our hotel and on the way our guide gave us a refresher on all the Bible stories about Moses, the Ten Commandments, and everything we would see at the monastery like the Burning Bush and the Well where Moses met his wife. They gave us a tour of the monastery, waited for us while we did the hike, and then took us back to our hotel.

Another private tour company we considered was Scorpion Diving & Water-sports. They had a kiosk by the pool at our hotel, the Mövenpick Resort Sharm El-Sheikh. Scorpion offered to take us during the day, leaving whenever we wanted, wait for us while we do the hike, and bring us back to the hotel. They also included lunch and all drinks.

Which Tour Companies Will Take You During the Day?

If you’re planning a trip to Egypt and want to hike Mount Sinai, I highly recommend checking with both of these companies to compare details and prices on a private tour.

I recommend contacting them at least 2 days before you want to do the hike so they have time to get all the permissions from the government.


Mount Sinai
Small church at the top of Mount Sinai

Tips for Hiking Mount Sinai

Visit the Saint Catherine’s Monastery First

It is only open in the morning so if you want to explore the monastery near Mount Sinai then definitely get that taken care of first. It will be closed after you come back from the hike. (We have more information about Saint Catherine’s Monastery later in this post.)

You Are Required to Hire a Local Guide

Each group is required to hire a local guide to hike with them up the mountain. You don’t really need a guide, the path is very well marked, but this is required to keep the local Bedouin community employed. When we went in April 2019, the price for a local guide was around 300 EGP ($20 USD). Be sure to have cash for the guide.

Bring Water and Snacks!

Bring water and snacks for the hike. On the way to Mount Sinai you will stop at a gas station for a bathroom break, and you can buy them here. There are also a few Bedouin tents along the hike where you can buy snacks and Bedouin tea, but they will be more expensive. We also brought extra snacks to share with our guide, who was very appreciative.

Mount Sinai

Bring a Picnic Lunch

You may also want to bring a picnic lunch to enjoy at the top of the mountain. Our guide did not go all the way to the top of the mountain with us, so we had the top completely to ourselves. It’s the perfect spot to sit and relax with a picnic lunch and take in the incredible views and reflect on the significance of this sacred place.

Bring Plenty of Sunscreen!

If you are hiking Mount Sinai during the day there are not many places to escape the sun! Bring plenty of sunscreen so that you don’t have to worry about sunburns while enjoying this beautiful hiking location in Egypt.

Wear Good Shoes & Bring a Jacket or Sweatshirt

Wear good walking or hiking shoes. Even though the Mount Sinai trail is an easy one, you are still on your feet going over uneven outdoor terrain. Your feet will thank you at the end of the day!

Don’t forget to check the weather before your hike too! You may want to bring a jacket or sweatshirt. We hiked to the top of Mount Sinai in late April and even though it was warm enough to go swimming in the Red Sea, up in the mountains it was cold! I was super glad I had a sweatshirt, especially at the top.


Mount Sinai

Things to See at Mount Sinai

Before the hike you will have the opportunity to visit Saint Catherine’s Monastery, located at the base of Mount Sinai. Inside the church you can see the Burning Bush where God appeared to Moses and the well where Moses met his wife.

Mount Sinai
The Burning Bush

Saint Catherine’s Monastery

Also called the “Sacred Monastery of the God-Trodden Mount Sinai,” the monastery is located at the mouth of a gorge at the foot of Mount Sinai. It is named after Catherine of Alexandria. According to tradition she was a princess who converted to Christianity around the age of 14, converted many people to Christianity, and then was martyred in the early 4th century around the age of 18 at the hands of the emperor Maxentius. More than 1,000 years later Joan of Arc would identify her as one of the saints who appeared to her.

The Burning Bush

Remember the story of Moses and the Burning Bush?  God appeared to Moses in the form of a burning bush. God called to him from within the bush, and Moses said “Here I am”. When Moses approached the bush, God said “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”

There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up.
– Exodus 3:2

“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”
– Exodus 3:5

The Lord had seen the suffering of the Israelites in Egypt, and told Moses to deliver his people from Egypt. The Lord told Moses He would bring them to the Promised Land, “a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey”.

Read More: See The Actual Promised Land God Promised to the Israelites in the Bible

Mount Sinai

“Burning Bush” Rocks at Mount Sinai

There are unique rocks in the Sinai Mountains that when you break them open, the burning bush appears on the stone.

Mount Sinai

The Well Where Moses Met His Wife

According to Exodus 2:15-21, Moses sat down by a well and seven sisters “came to draw water and fill the troughs to water their father’s flock. Some shepherds came along and drove them away, but Moses got up and came to their rescue and watered their flock.” The girls’ father invited Moses to eat and stay in his home. He “gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage.”

Like this post? Save it on Pinterest!

Tips for Hiking Mount Sinai

Tips for Hiking Mount Sinai

Tips for Hiking Mount Sinai

Have you hiked Mount Sinai? How was your experience?

You May Also Like:

21 Responses
  1. Marcia Snyder

    Hi Marcia Snyder, this is Marcia Snyder as well! imagine the shock I was in when I saw my name when scrolling through the comments lol! Wow – I didn’t even go yet! ? But I’m definitely pondering it.

  2. Elena and Rey

    Planning to go with a religious group tour mid Oct2022. I can walk 2 miles easy on flat surface. I understand the climb is about 4.5 miles . Expecting very hard climb.

  3. David

    Hello, we are planning to visit in July, will hiking in the daytime be too hot making the sunrise hike a better option? Thanks for your help.

  4. Bethany

    I just went with a group overnight and had an incredible experience. We got there at 4PM to hike during the sunset, slept under the stars (and rented mattresses and blankets at the top), then woke up for the sunrise. It was absolutely breathtaking. There were a ton of people there in the morning for the sunset, but there was absolutely no one there on the hike up. It also was not too cold (maybe 55 F) and there was NO WIND at the top– pretty crazy! Just another option. I would highly recommend it!

    1. Jamie

      Wow! That does sound amazing. What time of the year did you go? What month do you recommend going for a vacation?

    2. Hana John

      Wow!! We want to do this! March 2023 God willing. There is a place up there to rent mattresses and blankets? How far in advance did you book the mattresses?Thank you

Do you have a question or comment?

Meet Kevin & Amanda

Kevin and Amanda

We love to travel and to eat! Here we share our favorite quick and easy recipes, plus travel tips and guides for our favorite places around the world. If you have any questions about what camera I use or how I edit my photos, check out my photography tutorials.

READ MORE

Subscribe via Email: