What this solves
Two paths go up Mount Sinai, both starting from St Catherine's Monastery (a UNESCO World Heritage Site at roughly 1,500 m altitude). The first is the Penitent Steps (Siket Sayidna Musa), 750 carved granite steps, 2 to 3 hours up. The second is the Camel Path, a switchback gravel track that takes 4 to 5 hours on foot or 30 minutes on a hired camel. Most organised tours send you up one and down the other, which is the right call because the descent on loose gravel with tired quads is genuinely miserable.
The sunrise start time changes by season. In December you start at roughly 04:00 to summit by 05:30 and see sunrise around 06:30. In July you start at 02:30 to summit by 04:30 and see sunrise around 05:00. This optimizer asks your month, your fitness, your cold tolerance, and your group size, and returns the right path, the right start time, the SCA permit cost, and a self-assessment flag that may tell you not to climb at all.
The calculator
How to read results
- The path recommendation is the right one for your fitness, not the heroic one. Easy fitness + cold sensitivity = camel path up, taxi down. Tough fitness + warm month + OK with cold = penitent steps up and camel path down.
- Sunrise time is local, with a 20-min buffer for summit photos. Real sunrise on the summit varies from about 05:00 in late June to 06:45 in late December.
- The cost line is per person in 2026 EGP, including the SCA permit (around 250 EGP per person), guide fee if mandatory, and Bedouin guide-tip. Camel ride is separate (300–500 EGP one-way).
- The "skip the climb" rule is the most important line on the page. Any self-assessment check above + Easy fitness = the basic warning, but the climber should not go. The summit plaza can be driven to by taxi and a sunrise coffee is still there.
- The monastery visit is a separate half-day. St Catherine's is UNESCO and open roughly 09:00 to 11:45 (closed some Wednesdays for restoration; verify the morning of). The Burning Bush claim, the Mosaic of the Transfiguration, and the 4th-century library are all on site. Do not try to fit monastery + climb into one pre-dawn window.
FAQ
Is the climb actually dangerous?
Statistically, no. The summit is 2,285 m, the base is 1,500 m, and the trail is wide enough for two people. The real risks are (a) slipping on the loose granite gravel of the camel-path descent if you are tired, (b) underestimating the cold at 2 a.m. on the summit in winter, and (c) altitude headache at 2,285 m if you flew in from sea level the day before. None of those kill you. They do ruin a day.
What if I have bad knees?
Skip the climb. The penitent steps down are 750 granite steps, each roughly 25 cm rise. Going up is fine for most knees; coming down is the problem. A taxi to the summit viewpoint is a 4x3 ride of about 25 minutes, costs 200–300 EGP per person one-way, and gives you 90% of the visual experience without the cartilage damage.
What is the SCA permit and how much?
The Supreme Council of Antiquities permit is mandatory for the climb and is checked at the trailhead by the Bedouin guide who is also the official gatekeeper. In 2026 it is roughly 250 EGP per person (foreign adult). It is folded into most guided tour prices. Self-organising travellers pay at the booth near the trailhead. Permit revenue funds the trail maintenance and the Bedouin village.
Best month to climb?
October to April. May to September daytime temperatures at the base exceed 38°C and the climb becomes an endurance test rather than a sunrise experience. Winter summit is cold but clear; summer is hot but the sunrise is earlier and you sleep in. Spring (March) and autumn (October) are khamsin-risk months with sandstorms.
Can I ride a camel all the way up?
No. Camels go about 80% of the way up the camel path; the last 700 granite steps to the summit are foot-only. The camel ride is roughly 300–500 EGP one-way, but the camel cannot summit. Most organised tours combine: penitent steps up, camel path down, or vice versa. See the welfare flag rules in our camel-trek tool before you book.
Related tools
Sources
- Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities, 2026 ticket-price schedule (Jebel Musa SCA permit around 250 EGP per person foreign adult).
- Sunrise time table for 28.5400° N, computed via NOAA Solar Position algorithm (winter solstice 06:42, summer solstice 05:05, equinox 05:53).
- Bedouin guide survey, St Catherine village, spring 2026 (median guide fee 400 EGP per group up to 6, mandatory at gate).
- St Catherine's Monastery opening hours, observed autumn 2024 and spring 2026 (09:00–11:45, closed some Wednesdays for restoration).
About
Pharaoh Compass is a small, ad-light, decision-grade toolkit. We started as a one-page Giza order optimiser and grew into 36. We don't sell tours, we don't take bookings, we don't take affiliate commissions. We make calculators.
Privacy
No personal data collected. No first-party cookies, no analytics cookies, no fingerprinting. The only third-party resources are Tailwind CSS (cdn.jsdelivr.net) and Font Awesome (cdnjs.cloudflare.com), both served from public, no-tracking CDNs. As of this version we run no Google AdSense or any advertising script. Should we later monetise via Google AdSense, this page will disclose: AdSense use, Google's cookie-based personalisation, opt-out URLs (adssettings.google.com, aboutads.info, youronlinechoices.eu), and an EEA consent banner per GDPR/ePrivacy.
Disclaimer
For reference only. Prices and schedules change; verify at the operator, the gate, or the embassy. We are not a licensed tour operator, immigration authority, or medical advisor. No warranty is made that any calculation is correct for your specific trip.