Mount Sinai (Jebel Musa, the “Mountain of Moses”) is a 2,285 m granite peak in South Sinai, where Jews, Christians and Muslims believe Moses received the Ten Commandments. Most visitors climb it at night to watch the sunrise from the summit, then visit Saint Catherine’s Monastery at its foot.
Mount Sinai rises above the small town of St Catherine in the high granite mountains of southern Sinai. The night climb to watch the sun come up over the peaks is one of the best-known experiences in Egypt, and it is open to anyone with reasonable fitness. This guide explains the routes, the timing, what to bring, and how to combine the climb with the monastery.
Mount Sinai is 2,285 m high and made of red and grey granite. It is not the highest peak in the area: Mount Catherine, a few kilometres away, reaches about 2,629 m and is the highest mountain in Egypt. From the summit of Mount Sinai you look out over a sea of jagged peaks that turn pink and gold at sunrise.
In the Book of Exodus, Moses received the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai, and the same story is told in the Quran. Since at least the 4th century, Christian monks and pilgrims have identified Jebel Musa as that mountain. On the summit stand a small Greek Orthodox chapel, built in 1934 on the site of older churches, and a small mosque.
Both routes meet at Elijah’s Basin, from where everyone climbs the last 750 or so steep steps to the summit. Small Bedouin cafés along the way sell tea and snacks and rent blankets.
Hermits lived in the valleys around the mountain from the early Christian centuries. In the 6th century Emperor Justinian built the fortified monastery at its foot, and the Jebeliya Bedouin, who still work as guides on the mountain today, have lived alongside the monks for centuries. In 2002 UNESCO listed the Saint Catherine Area, including Mount Sinai, as a World Heritage Site.
At the foot of the mountain stands Saint Catherine’s Monastery, one of the oldest working Christian monasteries in the world, with the Chapel of the Burning Bush and a famous collection of icons and manuscripts. It opens only in the morning, usually around 9:00 to 11:30 and not on Fridays or Sundays, which fits perfectly after the sunrise climb.
Groups leave Dahab or Sharm El Sheikh around 11 p.m. to midnight and start walking at about 1:00 to 2:00 a.m. with a Bedouin guide. You reach the top before dawn, which is the coldest part of the night, often near freezing in winter. After sunrise you walk down, ideally by the Steps of Repentance, and reach the monastery when it opens.
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Yes. The night walk under the stars, the sunrise over the granite peaks and the visit to the monastery afterwards make one of the most memorable days in Egypt. It is a long night, so rest the day before, dress very warmly, and go with a licensed Bedouin guide. If you stay in Dahab, also see the Colored Canyon and the Blue Hole.
Book this experience: the Mount Sinai sunrise and St Catherine’s Monastery trip from Dahab, or the Mount Sinai climb and St Catherine Monastery trip from Sharm El Sheikh.
About 2.5 to 3 hours up by the Camel Path, including the final steps, and about 1.5 to 2 hours down.
Moderate. The Camel Path is long but not steep; the last 750 steps to the summit are steep and uneven. Anyone with average fitness can do it slowly.
No. Visitors must be accompanied by a local Bedouin guide, who you meet at the start of the path near the monastery. Tours include one.
Very cold before sunrise, especially from December to February, when temperatures can drop below freezing. Blankets can be rented at the summit cafés.
Yes, Bedouin offer camel rides for most of the Camel Path, but the final steps to the summit must be walked.
No. Mount Catherine, nearby, is higher at about 2,629 m. Mount Sinai is 2,285 m.
Join one of our Dahab tours or Dahab day tours with a local guide.
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