Trekking to discover the St. Catherine region, a protected area of 4,300 square kilometres declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2002.

In addition to its historical importance (Mount of Moses, Elijah Basin, Monastery), it offers a unique landscape, with flora (710 plant species, including 115 medicinal plants and 35 endemic) and fauna (such as dorcas gazelles, foxes, beech martens, ibex goats and the mythical Sinai leopard, probably extinct in the 1950s) particular, a ‘living’ Bedouin culture, that of the ‘Gebelaiahs, descendants of families originally from Wallachia imported by the Emperor Justinian to serve the Monastery.

After the exertions of the trek, time for some well-deserved relaxation at the Basata Ecolodge, located in a beautiful private bay with a beach and crystal-clear sea that holds an intact, lush coral reef.

Unique architecture using local methods and materials, a limited number of guests per day and quality cuisine make it a paradisiacal corner of the Red Sea, light years away from the exaggerations of the big resorts in Sharm el-Sheikh.