Trek 2: Mt. Katharina (1-2 days)

With its peak towering at 2642 metres above sea level, Mt. Katharina is Egypt’s highest mountain. It offers stunning views over the whole South Sinai region, as far as the Tih Plateau to the north, mainland Egypt to the west across the Gulf of Suez and the Saudi mountains to the south across the Gulf of Aqaba. Believed to be the place where the body of the martyred Saint Katherine was found after a monk had a dream, the mountain is part of the religious landscape of the region, with a small Greek Orthodox church on the peak marking the event. The trek is often done in a single day, going and returning the same way via Wadi Arbain. While this is the most direct route, a lot is missed. Some of the highlights of the trek are hidden in the Wadi Shaq-Wadi Mathar area, on the other side of the range, so a circuit involving those high mountain wadis is recommended.

Read more: Mt. Katharina.



You can click waypoints marked with a green camera symbol to see a photo taken at, near or of the given location. 

Trek photos


waypoint 01: Wadi Arbain (Wadi Arbaein, Wadi Leja) 

waypoint 02: Hajar Musa (Rock of Moses) and Greek Orthodox chapel

waypoint 03: Monastery of the Forty Martyrs (Deir el Arbain)

waypoint 04: Ramadan’s Garden

waypoint 05: top of Wadi Shaq Musa (Farsh Umm Silla)

waypoint 06: Mt Katharina plateau

waypoint 07: Mt Katharina summit

waypoint 08: Farsh Umm Silla junction

waypoint 09: Wadi Umm Silla junction

waypoint 10: Wadi Rhazana

waypoint 11: Wadi Umm Silla waterfall

waypoint 12: Wadi Rhazana, Sbah’s garden

waypoint 13: Wadi Ahmar

waypoint 14: Wadi Mathar, Sbail’s garden

waypoint 15: El Hrezi, Farhan’s garden

waypoint 16: garden and mulberry tree

waypoint 17: Wadi Shaq junction

waypoint 18: Wadi Shaq, Oda’s garden

waypoint 19: Wadi Shaq – Wadi Tubuq junction

waypoint 20: Ein Shkaya

waypoint 21: Islibet

waypoint 22: Abu Jeefa top

waypoint 23: Abu Jeefa bottom, Ein Tufaha

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