Published on Jan, 2025
What to expect? Before booking for this tour I read a number of reviews to try to work out what to expect. Here’s what happened. Our hotel pick-up was at 7.45pm. People were picked up from other hotels and at about 9.00 we were at a location waiting for others to join us from other pick-ups. After this the coach was full. We then went to another location to join other coaches. Finally, at 10pm we all set off for Sinai in convoy, with a police escort. During the journey there were stops at security checkpoints and also a stop to view icons for sale. It is worthwhile trying to get some sleep during this whole process.
Finally we left the coach at about 1.40am and walked the mile or so to St Catherine’s monastery, where the climb proper began, at 2am. For the first six kilometers there is a steady slope, but the path can be tricky underfoot with many large boulders and it is much harder going in the dark, though hand-held torches were provided. I had a head torch, which was good. This part of the journey is punctuated with stops at a number of small cafeterias. Our party maintained a fairly brisk pace and we finished the six kilometers not long after 4am. At regular intervals invitations were given to go by camel, at a cost of some £15.
The final kilometer involves what is very euphemistically referred to as 750 “steps”. In fact it is a much steeper and more demanding climb with occasional horizontal slabs that could generously be called steps. Unlike the wedding at Cana, the worst wine has been kept till last, this stage of the ascent being much more demanding. Too demanding for camels but Bedouin are on hand to offer assistance — for a price. By about 5am we had ascended a good 600 “steps” and had a rest at the final cafeteria before the summit. We pressed on to the summit at about 5.30 and made it to the top before 6.00. The next half hour involved watching the sky turn red until the sun rose at 6.30.
After that it was straight down again in order to be back at the monastery by 8.45. This was of course all downhill, but was demanding, given the terrain, especially the 750 “steps”. After these “steps” camels were again on offer. At the monastery there was a quick tour limited by the need to be back at the bus, still a mile away, by 9.45 (in order to be back at Sharm el Sheikh in time for lunch). In fact we didn’t get away until 10 and the return coach journey took some three hours. On the outskirts of Sharm el Sheikh there was an exchange of passengers with another coach in order to facilitate speedy return to hotels. We were one of the last to be dropped off, because of the location of our hotel, and got back shortly before 2pm.
Is this trip for you? We are in our 70s but remain fairly fit. We found it demanding and might not have gone had we realised just how demanding. But it was a great experience and I’m glad we did it. My wife took a camel for the second half of the six kilometers up and was glad to have done that. On the way back we both decided to take camels for the six kilometers but after a while reverted to walking since being on a camel downhill on that trail is really uncomfortable. When we got back to Sharm el Sheikh the tour operator asked if we had all enjoyed it and then jokingly added that whether we had or not we wouldn’t be doing it again. It is worth doing once and there are alternatives for those who cannot cope, such as camels or in the worst case waiting at a cafeteria for the party to return.
Finally, is this particular tour/operator the right one? I cannot speak too highly of it. The whole operation was run with an impressive efficiency. Ahmed the organiser combined a good humour with an iron control. I chose this particular operator because of the Tripadvisor reviews and the experience convinced me that I had made the right choice.
Just one minor complaint. We had only 40 minutes or so at the monastery and a significant portion of that was spent standing listening to an unnecessarily lengthy lecture on Moses and the monastery, taking time away from actually seeing the monastery.
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