Founded in 1996, Egypt's St Catherine Protectorate is home to a string of World Heritage-listed sites. Sacred Mount Sinai towers over St Catherine, which enchants you with its high-altitude desert landscapes.

Things to do

Also known as “Gebel Musa”, Mount Sinai is hallowed to Christians, Muslims and Jews. All three religions cite the mountain as the place where God delivered his Ten Commandments to Moses. Bedouin guides lead hikers to the summit, where you'll enjoy sweeping views over St Catherine’s Monastery and the surrounding desert.

St Catherine Monastery dates back to AD 330, when Byzantine empress Helena raised a refuge and chapel for travelling pilgrims. Today the ancient complex is considered one of the oldest monastic communities on the planet. You can stroll around the walled compound and peer into the 6th-century Church of the Transfiguration.

Housed within the St Catherine Monastery’s compound walls, the Monastery Museum offers a fascinating collection of Egyptian displays. It’s filled with ancient treasures, including a collection of Byzantine-era icons, gleaming silver crosses and polished gold goblets.

While pilgrims were once free to snip off cuttings and take them home as blessings, today the St Catherine's Burnish Bush is protected by a small fence. You can sip on the sacred water from the adjacent Well of Moses.

Getting around

Taxis are the fastest and easiest way to get around the St Catherine Protectorate. From Dahab, the drive takes around two hours, while you need to allow three hours to get to Sharm el-Sheikh. Local buses also run between St Catherine and the Sinai coast.