Mt. Sinai (Jebel Musa) and the Safsafa basins - Discover Sinai

This is an easy day-trek starting and finishing at Cafeteria Joma (1);it’s a circuit that you could do either way. If you don’t have a guide dothe oasis first, as described, and get a guide there. Otherwise,depending on the time you start and taking the heat factor into account,it might make sense to do the circuit in reverse. We start from CafeteriaJoma in the morning, have a few hours to explore and rest in the oasis,then return in the afternoon via the White Canyon. From the cafeteria,passing the Rock of Inscriptions (Hajar Maktub) (2), we reach theEin Khudra pass (3) from where there is a beautiful view on the oasisdown below. (The ruins of an ancient church known as Deir Khudra,north of the path, are not much more than two piles of rocks, but it isstill worth a mention.) From the pass descend the zigzag path andcross the sandy basin to reach the gardens.Stop at any of the gardens and have a tea with your host. Explore thegarden and walk around the oasis. There is a spring in a cave (4) justoutside the first gardens, and another one above ground at the lastgardens, dripping into a fountain (5). There is a lookout point abovebut it is difficult to reach – don’t try to do it alone. The basin is almostclosed, but there is a narrow gap (6) at its bottom leading out to a longand wide wadi. This is Wadi Khudra, from where the 4x4s approach theoasis.32