Wadi Gnai: Dahab Travel Guide

A valley that drains toward the Gulf

Wadi Gnai starts where the noise of Dahab stops. Behind the town, the South Sinai mountains split into dry riverbeds, and this is one of them. The floor is gravel and sand, the walls are bare rock, and there are no handrails, kiosks or signboards to tell you where to look.

A wadi is a seasonal watercourse. For almost all of the year it carries no water, only the evidence of it. You will find smoothed stones, banks of washed sand and the odd acacia holding on where moisture collects underground. That record of rare flash floods is the real landscape here.

The people who leave reviews rate it very highly, and there are not many of them. Compared with the Blue Hole or the Lighthouse promenade, it gets a small share of Dahab’s visitors. That is the reason to go.

What the walk actually feels like

Expect uneven ground throughout. The valley floor changes from firm gravel to loose sand that slows your stride, then to scattered boulders you step around or over. The colour comes from the geology. Sinai’s granite and sandstone go from pinkish grey to deep rust depending on the light.

Sound is the other thing you notice. With the town’s traffic and café music out of earshot, you mostly hear your own footsteps on stone. Shade is rare and comes from rock overhangs, not trees, so look out for the next patch of it as you walk.

• Time to allow: a half day gives you an unhurried walk with stops
• Difficulty: easy to moderate, depending on how far you go up the valley
• Facilities: none, so carry everything you need and bring everything out again

Getting out of Dahab

Most visitors reach the wadi by road from town. The easiest way is a taxi or a Bedouin driver booked through your camp, hotel or one of the safari desks along the Masbat and Mashraba seafront. Agree in advance where you will be picked up and what time you will be collected. Phone signal in the valleys is unreliable.

The plus code CCXX+Q6W puts it on the map for drivers who use navigation apps. Show it to your driver before you leave. Many local drivers know these places by the Bedouin name rather than by an address.

Sinai roads have police checkpoints. Carry your passport, not a photocopy, even for a short trip out of town.

Walking it the Bedouin way

Dahab’s desert trips are run mostly by local Bedouin, and visits work best when you go along with how they do things.

• Go with a guide if you’re unsure. A Bedouin guide knows which side branches lead somewhere and which ones dead-end. Your camp can usually arrange one.
• Agree everything before you set off. Settle the route, the duration and the fee at the start. If a trip has gone well, a tip on top for the guide is normal.
• Accept the tea. If tea is offered during a stop, it is usually sweet and brewed over a small fire. Saying yes is polite, and it is a good moment to rest.
• Dress for the culture and the sun. Long, loose clothing covering shoulders and knees works for both.
• Ask before photographing people. Photographing landscapes is fine. People, especially women, are a different matter, so ask first.

When to go, and when not to

The season shapes everything here. From roughly October to April, the days are warm rather than punishing and walking the valley is a pleasure. In summer the rock radiates heat long after the sun has passed overhead. Limit summer trips to the first hours after sunrise, or skip them.

Whatever the month, start early. The valley floor gets direct sun by midday, and the walls that give you shade in the morning give you little once the sun is high.

Check the weather before you go in winter. Rare rainstorms over the mountains can send flash floods down wadis that looked bone dry an hour earlier. If rain is forecast inland, postpone.

What to pack

Pack for an area with no facilities at all.

• At least two to three litres of water per person, more in warmer months
• A wide-brimmed hat, sunglasses and high-factor sunscreen
• Closed shoes with grip. Sandals let gravel in and give no ankle support
• Salty snacks and something to carry your rubbish out in
• A charged phone with an offline map, and your passport for the checkpoints

Pairing it with the rest of Dahab

A morning in the wadi fits well with an afternoon on the water. Back in town, the reef along the Lighthouse area is an easy shore-entry snorkel. North of town, the Blue Hole and the Canyon are Dahab’s best-known dive sites.

If one wadi leaves you wanting more, the same Bedouin operators run longer desert trips into the interior. These include overnight trips toward Mount Sinai and St Catherine’s Monastery, about two hours’ drive inland.