Thru Hike: from Serabit el Khadem to Ras Shetan – 12 Day
UPDATE MARCH 2020
The Sinai Trail is going to be taking a break for the next few weeks & months until the global health crisis is brought under control. With the help of an amazing community of people in Egypt & beyond the Sinai Trail has made a real difference to the region: it has created jobs & opportunities in remote areas; it has brought tribes together; it has given hope in a diffcult chapter of Sinai’s history & has underlined the beauty of an endangered nomadic culture to the world. At the moment it’s important we stop trail traffic to ensure the Sinai’s isolated communities are protected but the trail is going be back as soon as things get better. Big thanks to all who have supported the growth of the Sinai Trail: it was built in hard times & with everybody’s help it’ll survive them again to blossom in the future.
This hike is from Serabit el Khadem in the Gulf of Suez to Ras Shetan in the gulf of Aqaba. It run through the Middle East’s greatest wilderness. We will walk through wadis, red sandy deserts and we will visit the ruins of the Pharaonic temple of Serabit el Khadem and its surrounding turquoise mines crossing the territories of three different tribes: the Alegat, the Muzeina and the Tarabin.
The hike is around 170 km and on a typical day we will cover between 10 and 20km, according to the terrain.
The cost of the trip is 22.500 EGP.
Early Bird discount: for booking confirmed with the payment of the deposit latest by the 10th March, the price is 20.500EGP.
For Egyptian citizen or non-Egyptian in Egypt with official residency/work permit the price is 11.800EGP
Specifically, the below is included in this trip:
1. Accommodation in twin room and an evening meal in Barakat Camp in Serabit el Khadem on Monday 6th April. Breakfast the following morning. Barakat Camp is a Bedouin Camp with simple rooms and share bathroom.
2. 12 days of hiking from the 7th till the 18th April, including Bedouin guides, support crew on-trail, permission fees,
3. 3 meals/ day, including breakfast, lunch, dinner and mineral water,
4. Accommodation in twin hut in Droub Camp in Nuweiba on Saturday 18th April plus an evening meal. Breakfast the following morning.
Droub camp is a Bedouin camp with simple bamboo huts and communal bathrooms. Pending availability, single huts are available on requests.
https://www.facebook.com/DroubCamp/
5. Transportation: private minibus from Cairo to Serabit el Khadem Monday 6th April, minibus from Ras Shetan to Cairo on Sunday 19th April. The minibus will depart from Cairo Qasr al Baron at 9.00am (time to be reconfirmed) and it will depart from Ras Shetan in the morning after breakfast and will arrive at Qasr al Baron in the late afternoon.
NOT included in the trips:
Please note that the price ONLY includes what is stated above: anything extra – e.g personal snacks, transport to/from Sinai if you are travelling independently, accommodation before/after the trip – are NOT included.
Please also note the Sinai Trail is not able to rent hikers equipment for the hike.
Travelling to/from Sinai
More information about the minibuses from Cairo will follow closer to the departure date.
Hikers travelling to Egypt from abroad can consider flying into Sharm el Sheikh. If you do this you will need to cover the cost of the transportation. We will organise the transfers for you from Sharm el Sheikh to the Serabit el Khadem and back to Sharm el Sheikh at the end of the trip.
HOW TO JOIN
This is a wilderness trip. You will walk a long way from settlements. There will be no toilets or beds/ accommodation/ easy conveniences. You will walk and live the Bedouin way; sleeping in the sands, under big desert skies, eating food cooked on a fire. If you’re not used to it, this can be difficult; but there are many things to love about it too. You might even find that, after you leave Sinai, you want to come back!
We’d love to be able to accept everybody who applies for the hike, but we have just 12 places available. To be accepted, it’s important you are physically fit, active and healthy. You should have good stamina and endurance, and lots of mental resilience; there will be times when you need it.
ONLY for Egypt based hikers there will be a compulsory fitness assessment prior to acceptance on the hike. To hikers attending from abroad we will ask detailed questions about their level of fitness.
If you’d like to join, please email us at sinaitrailenquiries@gmail.com, answering all the questions below:
1. Name & Family Name
2. Date of Birth
3. Nationality & place of residence
4. Phone number
5. Facebook profile
6. Hiking experience. Please tell us a bit about your existing hiking experience – e.g. have you hiked in the Sinai before? If so, where? Have you ever done a multi-day trek, and how long did it last? How often do you hike and when was the last time you hiked? Have you hiked in any other parts of the world? Do you have any experience in any other outdoor activity, like scrambling, rock climbing, mountain biking etc?
7. Fitness. Please tell us a bit about your current lifestyle and level of fitness: how physically fit would you say you are on a scale of 1-5 (5 = the best, a total pro). How regularly do you exercise – if at all? – and what are your favourite activities for keeping fit e.g. walking, jogging, workouts?
8. Do you have any injuries or medical issues that you feel would be relevant over a 12 day hike in the wilderness, far from help?
9. Finally, we’d love to know a bit about you as individuals and why you’d like to hike the Sinai Trail! Do you have a special goal? What appeals most about it? Is it the challenge, solitude or adventure; the chance of meeting new people in a special place, or do you just want to see more of Egypt.
To secure your place a deposit of 5000EGP must be paid within 10 days after your place has been confirmed by the Sinai Trail Team. After that we will not be able to keep your place and it will be offered to other hikers.
