Mount Sinai Sunrise and St. Catherine's Monastery Trip from Dahab
Description
Travel through the night to Mount Sinai to climb the mountain at night to see the sunrise from atop Moses’ Mountain. The descent after dawn to visit one of the oldest Christian monasteries in the world, St. Catherine, built around the site of the Burning Bush.
Tour Options
Itinerary
We start at 23:00 in the evening, driving for 2 hours to the monastery and the mountain. We start climbing the mountain at 01:00 with our guide. We can enjoy looking at the stars while waiting for sunrise time to go up the mountain is 2 and half hours each way. Enjoy an amazing early sunrise over the monastery
After sunrise, we go down the mountain to visit the monastery of St. Catherine which is considered one of the most famous monasteries in the world, and also it’s one of the oldest monasteries of Christianity. It’s located in heart of the Sinai Peninsula at a height of 1570 meters in the place where according to the tradition Moses saw the bush on fire which didn’t burn up. The Monastery is Orthodox and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The monastery dates back to the age of the emperor Justinian 6th century. It was the same time of building an enclosure wall surrounding the monastery right now but the monastery was named Saint Catherine at the beginning of the 11th century in honor of saint Catherine, one of the earliest Alexandria Christian martyrs. It contains several monuments like the burning bush seen by Moses and the remarkable Icons Gallery. Then return back to your hotel in Dahab.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
we pick up all the customers from any hotel in dahab
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(30)
I got no confirmation that I would be picked up from my bottle. The organizer could not be reached by email or via the site of trip advisor. Hotel asked me to help, they also did not get in touch on the numbers that are on the website yet email. Eventually got in touch via google and picked up for the trip. The ascent was beautiful a special experience. However, the monastery was closed and therefore could not be visited. I contacted the trip organizer about this because this was known information to them, which they did not let the customer know, then we could have gone on another day when the monastery was open. Again I get no response, explanation asked and on request for a part of the money back because part of the tour did not take place. No response when you can see they read the message.
It’s amazing! The most beautiful thing I have seen in my life. It’s quite difficult to walk for about 1h30/2h00 in the mountains and then you have 750 more steps to climb, or 1h more to get to the top.You have to wait outside in the cold but you can rent a blanket for 200EGP, you can do the first two hours of camel walking for 1000EGP. The toilets at the different points on the route are at 20EGP. You have to have change. When transport drops you off you can negotiate a poncho for 200EGP and gloves for 100EGP. Attention no vending machines in the area. I recommend eating too and water, without being too loaded. Our guide Mohamed was great and he made us all amazing individual photos.
Tour itself was nice, also good transport & kind driver to the place. Great sunrise and view + visit of the monesty. Walk is also pretty doable. Up on the mountain its quite cold. But you can rent blankets. Generally its quite a touristic activity with many other groups, but this is also fine if you know beforehand Only negative part is that the guide itself did not do any storytelling. He really only guided you up. Zero information about history of the place or anything so this was sadly a bit dissapointing with that regard. Not shure if other tours do better here..
Worth every steps!! It was a very peaceful experience, and the view is stunning!! I definitely recommend this when you are in Dahab or Sharm. I went at sunrise but there is also an option to go at sunset (I think it would be too hot in the summer for my liking). I went in September and I was wearing a t-shirt and sport pants and I didn’t feel cold at all. I also brought a hoodie and a cotton scarf just in case and I’m glad I did because we had to wait for about 2-3 hours at the summit before sunrise, and when you’re not moving much, it’s a bit cold because of the wind. I would say it was probably around 12-14 degrees Celsius compared to 39 degrees in Dahab during the day. If you’re going in the winter, be prepared to experience some snow the guide said. In the winter it’s below zero Celsius at the summit. I hope this will help!
Very nice sunrise in romantic atmosphere. However, the climb is very, very exhausting. On the way there is the possibility to use a "camel taxi". In the upper area, tour guides are available to help with the ascent. This makes perfect sense, but it also comes at a price. Overall, it was a very interesting tour.
The experience was good. Except the price. There were 14 people in our group and all of us booked different prices. Which is 50USD is way more expensive than the other. Average price is 1000EGP which is only 21USD. You can just walk in and book at any tour shops in Dahab. If you wanna pay 2.5 times more than other people, book now!
The guide was very helpful. Couple of group members struggled to climb the infamous 750 steps in pitch dark, the guide was always onhand to assist them. The climb was treacherous and it's not for the faint hearted. Once on the top, the view was amazing!
Mohamed was great guide and made sure we were safe, comfortable and warm during the trek up and the wait for sunrise. He also helped us secure a good spot so we’d have perfect view of sunrise. It does get very cold so I recommend bringing warm clothes and making use of the mattresses and blankets they sell at the top.
The Van model was from the 1900s - it was a washed-up van where they tried to fill in as many people as possible. It was very uncomfortable the ride towards the mountain. They could have provided a better option. A ride that would have taken 1.30 hours took only 1 hour. The climb is not an easy climb. Please prepare yourself. But once you reach there on the top, It's all worth it, we had a group singing gospel and reading the Bible. It's also very cold on the top.
For people who come from SEA like me, the weather at night is freezing cold, even it's in summer. Please be prepared, or you can rent a blanket from locals. The trail is easy to walk or even run.
