A short visit to Sinai, Egypt


You can still fly from Budapest to Sharm el Sheikh at a very good price with Wizz Air, even in these times of fuel crisis scares, I found out to my surprise. So I decided to make a short visit during Eid el Adha in 2026 and see my friends in St Catherine. Spring is always a good time to visit, especially this year, a couple of months after very heavy rains. Apart from visiting people in town, I did a few little hikes in the mountain valleys — more about them in separate posts on Discover Sinai. 

A short walk near St Catherine: El-Freish & Wadi Tala

On my short visit to Sinai in 2026, the first walk I did — as is usually the case — was to the secluded garden of El-Freish and through short Wadi Tala. But instead of returning to town via the usual Naqb el-Raheb pass, I decided to have a look at the valley and its monastery from above, so I chose the route known as Seru. Read more.

A short walk near St Catherine: Wadi Itlah & Ubugiya

Another valley very close to St Catherine is Wadi Itlah, running more or less in a straight line from Wadi Tala to a junction further down. The steep Wadi Shaq Tinya joins Wadi Itlah here, descending from the high mountains, and the two merge and continue as Wadi Jinab towards the lowlands at Sheikh Awad. Read more.

Wadi Jibal: the high mountain wadis

A moderate overnight hike in the Sinai high mountains, with the first day being a little tougher and the second more relaxing. The walk started at Abu Jeefa, descending to Islibet and Wadi Tubuq and passing the spring of Ein Shkaya along the way. A detour was made via Wadi Shaq and Wadi Mathar before returning to the main route at el-Ehded and Wadi Zawatin. The reservoir at Farsh Zaq was still quite full after the rain a couple of months earlier. Read more.


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