Sharm El Sheikh Hiking and Desert Trails
Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use.
Sharm el-Sheikh itself isn’t a hiking destination the way a mountain town would be, its terrain right around the resort strip is flat, developed coastline. The walking worth doing here is either inside the protected areas nearby or, for the more ambitious, the overnight climb up Mount Sinai. Here’s what’s genuinely on offer.
The Colored Canyon
Near Nuweiba, this narrow sandstone slot canyon runs roughly 800m through walls up to 40m tall, carved by erosion after the Red Sea retreated from the rock. It’s a half-day hike, usually bundled into a Sinai jeep or quad-bike safari from Sharm rather than done as a standalone trip, and it’s genuinely striking, with the rock shifting through reds, yellows and oranges as the passage narrows and widens. Local Bedouin lore holds that Moses was once lost in the canyon for 40 years, worth treating as folklore rather than history when your guide tells the story.
Mount Sinai (Jebel Musa)
This is the serious hike on this list: 2,285m, climbed overnight by most visitors to reach the summit for sunrise, via either the longer camel path (about 2.5 hours on foot, or by camel most of the way) or the steeper 3,750 “Steps of Repentance” direct from St Catherine’s Monastery. A guide is mandatory, and small cafe stalls plus a rentable-blanket camp near the top support the climb. Because this route sits roughly 2.5-3 hours inland from Sharm, well beyond the coastal resort strip, it needs the full Egyptian visa rather than the free Sinai entry permit, and it’s advisory-sensitive territory: go only with a licensed organized tour and check current government guidance before booking.
Nabq Protected Area
North of Sharm, this 600 km² reserve holds marked walking routes through mangrove stands and desert habitat, home to more than 400 fish species in its waters and to dorcas gazelles and Nubian ibex on land. It’s an easy, flat walk rather than a strenuous hike, better suited to a half-day nature outing than a serious trekking day.
What Sharm doesn’t have
Be skeptical of any list claiming an extensive network of marked desert hiking trails right around Sharm itself; the resort strip’s own terrain doesn’t support that, and most “hiking” sold locally is really a guided quad-bike or jeep safari with short walking stops built in, worth knowing before you book something expecting a dedicated trekking day.
For the broader desert-excursion options that pair with a short walk, see our main Sharm el-Sheikh guide , and for the advisory context around any inland route, our day trips from Sharm el-Sheikh guide covers it in more depth.
One concrete tip: if you’re doing the Mount Sinai overnight climb, bring a warm layer even in summer. The desert night cools sharply at altitude, and standing around waiting for sunrise at the summit is colder than most visitors expect from a country known for its heat.