An alternative and uncrowded way to see Mount Sinai and St. Catherine’s Monastery. Sheikh Sina is Bedouin run, the guides have local knowledge and as a couple we had our own guide. Most tourists climb up Mount Sinai to see the sunrise and the summit can be busy. This walk up the basins of Ras Safsafa is an alternative path. There are a series of basins joined to Mount Sinai, each with a small chapel and garden. Setting off mid-morning we didn't see another soul until we were about half an hour from the summit in the late afternoon. There are amazing views down onto the monastery that most people never see. We took our time with a gentle walk up to the basins and had a simple lunch and rest at Elijah's Basin, just below the summit. We then climbed to the summit for the sunset where there were a handful of people. The view and the colours illuminating the rocks were beautiful. Afterwards we made our way back down to Elijah's Basin where we stayed overnight; our overnight bag which had travelled by camel was waiting for us. The night sky was incredible and the Bedouins cooked us supper which included delicious fresh, warm flatbread. In the morning we emerged from our warm camel hair blankets and tucked into breakfast while watching a very long stream of people climbing down from the summit after the sunrise. The walk down the Steps of Repentance to St Catherine's Monastery, where we rejoined the crowds, was knee-shattering but our guide was attentive and supportive, even carrying our overnight bag! The pace of the walk, the land and sky scapes and the Bedouin people made this an unforgettable experience!

www.sheikhsina.com/english/
El Milga, St. Katherine, South Sinai, Egypt
+20 69 347 0880

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The deserts of Egypt are on the doorstep of Europe. Egypt is just a five hour flight from London and you can do it on the cheap with budget airlines from most regional airports. The Sinai is the best known desert in Egypt and it's getting much more popular. Mount Sinai is the 'feather in the cap' for most tourists, travellers and trekkers, but it's not the best peak going - not by a long shot. Give the jaded sunrise itinerary a miss and head for Jebel Banet, near St. Katherine's. Jebel Banet means 'Mountain of the Girls' and it is said that two Bedouin sisters tied their hair together here and threw themselves off the sheer north face. They were distraught at their father refusing to let them marry the men they loved. The peak itself stands on the perimeter of the High Mountain Region: you can look right out to the Wilderness of the Wanderings from here, where the Israelites are said to have spent forty aimless years (the modern day Et Tih Plateau). From Jebel Banet you can go down past the dripping waterfall of Sida Nugra to the El Karm Ecolodge in Wadi Gharba. This uses solar power to heat the showers, and it uses candles for night lights. The furniture is all made from oversized blocks of stone and wood that make it look like a slightly bizarre insertion of Flintstone graphics into real life. It's well worth staying the night and you can pitch a tent for LE15. Rooms are LE65. The next day I'd recommend you hire a camel to get back to St. Katherine's. Go via Naqb el Hawa or 'Pass of the Winds': this is the old pilgrim route to the Monastery of St. Katherine, and it's the time honoured way to approach it. You have to experience the long, loping stride of the camel and it's far better here than at the pyramids. This is camel trekking at its best. You need a guide to go trekking in St. Katherine's as part of tribal law and they're super easy to find. My tip is to go to the Desert Fox Camp - it's owner is a Bedouin man called Faraj and the guides he employs have the edge over ones elsewhere.

After Sinai I discovered the other deserts of Egypt. Everyone knows about Siwa and Bahariya in the Western Desert and it's a wonderful place to go: 100% recommended. But all the same it's old news and the real buzz frontier at the moment is the Gilf Kebir National Park. This is way down in the vast, empty south west of Egypt. You'll find a Great Sand Sea and the world's biggest meteor crater here. You'll also find an abundance of cave paintings from the neolithic era. These are one of the earliest sources anywhere in the world for the human experience in the desert. They're one of Africa's great cultural treasures. They depict trees, water and large animals, quite at odds with the surrounding environment. They gave rise to a myth of a lost oasis amongst locals, known as Zarzara: lush trees, waterfalls and birds of paradise were believed to be here, and many went looking. You can still see the whitewashed skeletons of people and camels who died in the hunt. Another thing to check out is Jebel Uweinat, a free-standing sandstone massif on the borders of Egypt, Sudan and Libya. This is topped by smooth, rounded peaks and it's dissected by deep, winding wadis. A 360 degree horizon opens up from the high points, with the silence unlike anywhere in the world: it's easy to feel something of the transcendental here. Coming to the Gilf isn't easy: this is real trailblazing adventure travel at the mo. You need permits to get here, and there's a mountain of bureaucracy to climb. But you won't have to have anything to do with it, fixers will sort it for you. If you're in Egypt get to Bahariya - you can get here by public bus in four hours from the Turgoman bus terminal in downtown Cairo (finding this needs a new post tip in itself!). In Bahariya you'll find people who know people. It can be pricey, up to $100-150/ day all inc. Before you go make absolutely sure your jeep is a good, modern one with no deficiencies. Gilf Kebir isn't the sort of place the AA visit. Also make sure you have enough supplies, mostly water. GPS is essential too and your guide MUST know how to work it. You'll have a police guard ride in the front of the jeep when you go: this is necessary as there have been reports of robberies from Sudanese groups in the area. If you're abroad you can try organising a safari through the following companies: www.zarzura.com/ or email Badawiya Safari at infao@badawiya.com. You can also try www.geographic-adventures.com and make sure you get this small pocket guide by Alberto Siliotti: //www.amazon.co.uk/Gilf-Kebir-National-Park-Pocket/dp/8887177848liotti:

Finally, there is Egypt's Red Sea Coast. At the moment, most folks go for Hurghada and other big resort towns, but the real thing to see is the Red Sea Mountains. This is a slice of Sinai from Sinai. The rock here is identical to the Sinai; both areas were part of the same crust until the Red Sea split them. You'll notice the same smooth domed red granite peaks and fertile green wadis. The area was explored briefly by the Royal Geographical Society explorer GW Murray in the 19th century but since then it's remained essentially untouched. This could be trekking heaven in the future and there are a number of peaks well worth a try: Jebel Gharib, Jebel Qattar and Jebel Shayib are amongst the best and their summits offer views across to the Sinai's main peaks, including Mount Katherina, Jebel Thebt and Jebel Sabbagh. You can even see the Hejaz of Saudi Arabia on a clear day (at night you'll see the Saudi coast in any weather, as the lights twinkle through the darkness). Aside from the scenery, you'll find giant leopard traps big enough to sleep in and isolated old hermit cells used by early Christians fleeing the persecutions. You'll find mysterious writing on the rocks and old tombs dotted on high west facing slopes. Bedouin tribes here include the Ma'aza, the Rashayed and the Ababda. All over the Middle East traditional Bedouin knowledge is being lost as it becomes less relevant to modern life, but here it is very much a survival necessity. They have no option but to maintain it. You'll see Bedouin hunting gazelles on the plains and digging down into the sand for water and of course you'll get the legendary hospitality for three and a third days in the remote areas. Culture here is much like it was hundreds of years ago. The downside of the Red Sea Mountains is access, and the police oscillate between saying you can have a permit and saying you can't go at all. It really depends on when you're there and how the situation is. Rely on unreliability. Check the situation out before you go with Hany Amr at desertaventures@tedata.net.eg and Ahmed Musa at pat@moussa.net. If you do manage to get into the mountains, they'll be able to help you sort guides too. Of course, you have the option of flaunting local law entirely and finding Bedouin who will take you into the desert hush hush, cloak and dagger: just remember you're taking a risk, for you and the Bedouin (and his tribe - the Egyptian police can be disproportionate when they want to be, especially to the Bedouin). For now, it's probably best to stick to other areas until the permit situation eases up, but just check if you're there. You might get lucky and the desert jewels here are fit to shine the finest crown of them all.

As a final few words I'd just say if you're going to the deserts of Egypt, do it in the transition from spring to summer. Summer is a bad time: you'll often be in the sun, so it won't be 'shade hot' it'll be serious blistering heat that'll feel over 50 degrees. Winter is cold - especially in Sinai and the Red Sea Mountains. Autumn can be lovely and it's the safest bet. Early spring is when the Khamaseen winds blow half of North Africa up into the sky: 'sandstorm season'. Around May is when the desert bloom comes out and a beautiful floral carpet spreads out over the sands. Hopefully, hopefully the Khamaseen will have died down. If so, it'll be perfect!

Some people I know recommend a pair of goggles if you're going in sandstorm season. In terms of equipment, the only thing I'd recommend 100% is a keffeyeh (the traditional Bedouin headscarf). You can use this for all manner of things - from a bivvy, to an arm sling and you can pull it over your head in a sandstorm.

Hope you enjoy the deserts as much as I did - good luck!

For the Sinai: www.desertfoxcamp.com/

For Gilf Kebir: www.zarzura.com/ and Badawiya Safari at infao@badawiya.com and www.geographic-adventures.com

For The Red Sea Mountains: Hany Amr at desertaventures@tedata.net.eg and Ahmed Musa at pat@moussa.net

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