The Sinai offers high adrenaline adventure sports in the interior, such as rock climbing, bouldering, mountain and desert biking. A few cases of paragliding were mentioned by locals, but although the terrain is perfect for it, the activity never really took off, and there isn’t any operator offering air sports of any kind.
“Life is either a great adventure or nothing” – Helen Keller
Rock climbing and bouldering
There are still only a handful of operators who offer services in the region, but rock climbing is getting discovered – and very rightly so. You find rock faces for climbers of all levels, from the beginner to the most experienced. Sometimes professional climbers with own equipment do climbs independently, although in most cases they still need a Bedouin guide and possibly camels to carry the gear. Bouldering is a relatively new phenomena, and there are many great boulders within easy reach whichever city you stay in. Those who are interested in the later activity can find the new book titled “A Dahab Bouldering Guide” useful.
Desert and mountain biking
Bicycle are quite popular in the resort towns and you can go for smaller rides to nearby places yourself, but further off to the desert or to the mountains you need more planning. There are only a couple of operators who offer this type of activities, although it might be possible to organise a program independently too. For a longer expedition in the desert a support car is needed anyhow, so one with his or her bike and a lot of determination can find operators who can understand and provide what is needed, and help in planning the adventure.
Thumbnail photo and story of a coast-to-coast desert cycling adventure: crossingsinai.blogspot.com.
Video below is by MTB Egypt, shot on a trip in 2011.