Trek 23: From Serabit el Khadim to Wadi Mukattab (2-3 days)

Serabit el Khadim is the only significant Pharaonic site in the Sinai, featuring a temple dedicated to the Goddess Hathor, turquoise mines and Pharaonic inscriptions atop a rocky plateau. It is located where a sandy desert and eroded, flat, rocky ranges meet and you have great views on Ramlat Hmeyer and the Tih Plateau. Wadi Maghara, much further south, is another place where turquoise was mined, featuring a Pharaonic carving. Wadi Mukattab, also called the Valley of Inscriptions, has scripts including the Proto-Sinaitic, said to be the foundation of modern writing. The three sites can be connected on foot as part of a long but easy trek. Much of the walk is along dirt roads and occasionally cars drive by, but you will see some spectacular spots. 

Read more: Serabit el Khadim, Wadi Mukattab and Wadi Maghara.


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

Trek photos


road from Abu Zenima

road from Wadi Gharandal

two roads meet in desert near settlement

Nasb el Asfal settlement

waypoint 01: beginning of path to site

waypoint 02: reaching the edge of the plateau

waypoint 03: the temple of Hathor

waypoint 04: edge of the plateau on the other side

waypoint 05: Umm Ajraf

waypoint 06: pass over Umm Ajraf

waypoint 07: descending to Wadi Sieh

waypoint 08: water tank near junction

waypoint 09: Wadi Sieh junction

waypoint 10: little pass

waypoint 11: Sheikh Suliman

waypoint 12: Wadi Maghara, beginning of climb

waypoint 13: Wadi Mukattab, beginning of inscriptions

waypoint 14: Wadi Mukattab, end of inscriptions

waypoint 15: pass

waypoint 16: asphalt road

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