Wadi Zalaqa

Trek 22, Trek 24

Long and wide Wadi Zalaqa, running between the walls of long ranges, is part of the sandy belt below the Tih Plateau that connects the peninsula coast to coast. It starts at Wadi Zaranik under Jebel Dalal in the centre of South Sinai, and ends at the oasis of Ein Umm Ahmed in the east. Jebel Berqa, the most impressive mountain of this region, is just off Wadi Zalaqa shortly before Ein Umm Ahmed. You find many Nawamis buildings along the way.

Other names/spellings: Wadee, Wady, Vadi, Ouadi – Zalaga, Zelega, Zeleqa


  • Wadi Zalaqa: a long and wide wadi, part of the sandy belt under the Tih Plateau that connects the west coast to the east. It starts at the plains of El Joofa and Elu el Ajramiya, located under Jebel Dalal, and ends at Ein Umm Ahmed near Wadi Watir.
  • El Joofa: a sandy plain with some rocky hills southwest of Jebel Dalal. A pumping station known as Bier Abu Wayed can provide fresh water. From the east coast you reach it via El Ramla.
  • Elu el Ajramiya: a big open plain south of El Joofa, extending to the main asphalt road at the settlement of Tarfa. It connects to St. Katherine and the high mountains.
  • Zaranik: an area with a maze of rocky hills southeast of Jebel Dalal, connecting El Joofa and Elu el Ajramiya to Wadi Zalaqa. It includes the footpath via Zarnuq, and the 4×4 route via Matab Zalaqa.
  • Wadi Ghlim: a wadi that cuts across the Guna Plateau, connecting Wadi Zalaqa to the Nawamis area over a spectacular pass called Naqb Ghlim. In the lower part of the wadi you find the well of Bier Ghlim.
  • Jebel Berqa: a massive dome of a sandstone mountain standing above lower ranges and the desert, little off Wadi Zalaqa.
  • Ein Umm Ahmed: also called simply El Ein, “The Spring”, it is a bottleneck at the end of Wadi Zalaqa where there is water in abundance in the ground, and often even on the surface at a location called Warwara.

See: Trek 22 and Trek 24 


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