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Places
In Sinai
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South Sinai is rich in natural heritage.
Stunning mountain scenery, vast desert landscapes are home to a variety of plant and animal species as well as the once-nomadic Bedouin tribes who have made the desert oases their homes. |
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| Places to visit in Egypt - In Sinai |
St. Catherines Monastery and Mt Sinai
From the mountainous interior of South Sinai, the peak of Gebel Katherina emerges at a height of 2,641m, Egypts tallest mountain. Nearby is Mt Sinai (also called Mt Moses) whose summit reaches 2280m and where Moses is believed to have received the Ten Commandments. At the foot of Mt Sinai lies the monastery of St. Catherine, built in 527AD.
The Monastery contains ancient religious manuscripts and icons, which are second only in their religious and historical importance to those held within the Vatican in Rome. Within the Monastery walls lies a Byzantine Basilica, reputed to have been built directly on the biblical site of the Burning Bush. Visitors to the Monastery are permitted to enter the Basilica where they will be awe-inspired by its ornate interior, rich in works of art including a myriad of silver lamps hanging down from the ceiling.
The Monastery and Mt Sinai are popular visitor attractions. Many people who visit Mt. Sinai, do so to climb the mountain overnight and then wait for the dramatic sunrise over the range of mountains. For others, the Monastery itself with its huge amount of artefacts is the main attraction.
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The Coloured Canyon
North of Nuweiba, a port town on the Gulf Of Aqaba, is the popular attraction of the Coloured Canyon, so-called because of different coloured and types of rocks which lie stratified against each other. Excursion to the Coloured Canyon is by 4-wheel drive. |
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The White Canyon
On the road to St. Catherines, you can turn off and head off across a stretch of sandy desert by 4-wheel drive until you reach the White Canyon. One is able to walk through the Canyon in the cool, winter months which then opens out at the Oasis of Ain Hudra, with its natural spring feeding the many date palms to be found there. A Bedouin community lives in the oasis and they are happy to provide their visitors with sweet Bedouin tea and lunch. |
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Nabq Protectorate
Nabq Protectorate is a 600sq km area of outstanding natural beauty, comprising mountains, dunes, wadi systems, alluvial plains and mangrove stands which support a diversity of flora and fauna.
Declared a protected area in 1992, the area of Nabq Protectorate follows the broad alluvial fan of Wadi Kid, whose source is high up in the mountains of South Sinais interior. At the top of Wadi Kid is the flourishing oasis of Ain Kid, with its many date palms; at its base, where it opens out onto the Gulf of Aqaba, lie many sand dunes, culminating at the waters edge with the mangrove forests.
Nabq Protectorate is also home to some Bedouin tribes, whose activities in the protected area include fishing and herding. More recently, the Bedouin have been engaged by the authorities to work with them to protect their natural heritage and several have been employed as park rangers and guides.
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Abu Galum
A Managed Resource Protected Area, Abu Galum covers an area of approximately 400sq km. It is north of Nabq Protectorate covering an area between Dahab and the port town of Nuweiba.
The area is made up of craggy granite mountains, with a number of small sinuous wadis which plunge almost vertically into the sea. The wadis support plant and animal life; over 165 plant species are to be found in this protected zone, of which 45 are unique to the area. Among the fauna to be found here include the Nubian Ibex, Rock Hyrax and Red Fox.
Abu Galum is less visited than the parks of Ras Mohammed and Nabq, since it is further away from Sharm and less accessible. Some parts are only accessible by camel, using the Bedouins as guides.
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