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| Page Type: Canyon Location: Sinai, Egypt, Africa Lat/Lon: 29.30000°N / 34.30000°E Activities: Hiking Season: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter | Page By: cjaniesch Created/Edited: Mar 1, 2009 / Mar 14, 2009 Object ID: 493881 Hits: 1293 Loading... Page Score: 90.29% - 34 Votes Loading... Vote: Log in to vote |
OverviewColoured canyon is a slot canyon located in the desert of the south-west of the Sinai peninsular, Egypt.
 An fine example of the colourful sedimentations in the canyon.
It is one of the main natural attractions of the Sinai and this standing is well deserved. Due to the extreme aridity of the area and the slot like nature of the canyon, sheltering it from the often strong winds of the desert, the colourful sedimentations left behind over millennia of occasional flash-floods have been extraordinarily well-preserved. The colours and also intricate patterns of these sediments often look like abstract paintings on a canvas of smooth sandstone. Coloured Canyon snakes through a layer of sandstone for roughly 800 meters and the containing walls reach up to 40 meters in height.
Due to its attractiveness and relatively good accessibility it is of course not a secret tip but a rather well-visited tourist attraction though good timing both in season and time of day will still find you having the place more or less to yourselves which greatly enhances the atmosphere of the place.
The route through the canyon takes between one and one and a half hours to complete and is an easy walk except for a couple of bottlenecks and steps which may well render the route impossible to elderly, handicapped or severely obese people.Getting There
View to the mountains framing Wadi Watir on the approach to Coloured Canyon. |
The usual and easiest approach to Coloured Conyon is to start at Nuweiba, the largest town between Dahab and Taba. From there a good road leads inland for 20 kilometers before reaching an oasis called Ein el Furtaga which is basically just a flat area with a few scattered palm trees.
From there, a rough gravel track (only off-road vehicles will do here) enters a valley (the Wadi Watir) and follows it in a north-westerly direction for another 10 kilometers until you reach the edge of a bluff. Below lies a system of canyons of which Coloured Canyon is the most spectacular.
You´ll find two coffee shops there. Since the canyon is only doable (without the help of climbing equipment) from the west to the east you´ll have to start the hike at the one to the west.
The Route  My daughter tackling the crux.
From the edge of the above mentioned bluff start descending on a well worn-out pass which appears to lead through a layer of gypsum as the material you are walking on is of a powdery dizzyingly white substance. Follow the pass until you reach the valley bottom and the canyon opens to the east and snakes between high walls for about 200 meters until you reach a flat open space. Here the path forks. Ignore the track to your left and take the right one. Soon the first sedimentations begin to show up and the canyon narrows and deepens.
Next comes a series of bottlenecks and steps (up to 2 meters high down which you have to jump of carefully lower yourself). The crux is a bottleneck created by a fallen, nearly perfectly round boulder that leaves just a small opening through which you have to squeeze yourself and which is impractical for severely obese people.
Directly after this the canyon widens and you reach a shelter where you may encounter a Bedouin brewing tea. The canyon gradually opens up more and more and eventually ends. Turn to the south and climb up the bluff following the obvious path until you reach the easterly coffee shop where your driver (in case you took a guide) will be waiting for you.
Red Tape  Another example where Coloured Canyon takes its name from.
If you don´t have a visa to Egypt but are in the country on a Sinai Permit (which is obtainable at the airport in Sharm el Sheikh and costs nothing) you´ll have to leave your passports with the soldiers at the roadblock at the entrance of the Nuweiba – Ein el Fataga road (this road eventually reaches Cairo where you are not allowed to go without a visa).
You need a permit for entering the Wadi Watir (there is another checkpoint at the entrance to the valley where this will be checked) which you have to apply for at the Tourist Police office in Nuweiba. You´ll need a photocopy of your passport for the application.
Theoretically a guide for the hike (which itself is easy enough) is not obligatory but whether you´ll pass the first roadblock without one is apparently up to chance or the mood of the officer-in-charge. People have been refused entry without one.
It is easiest to hire a guide and a suitable (the staff at your hotel or beach camp will do that) and the whole trip will cost between 40 and 60 Euros for 3 people.
When to Go & Things to Consider
Coloured Canyon can be done year-round Daytime temperatures in January are generally about 20°C and reach a peak of 40°C in July/August. If you go from late spring to autumn avoid starting late as the heat will be overpowering from noon to early evening.
Bring enough water and something to cover your head to prevent a heat-stroke. Also wear the sturdiest shoes you have brought along – wearing sandals is dangerous and may easily result in a twisted ankle or worse.
Sand vipers may sometimes be found buried in the sand. They are rare but their bite is potentially lethal so watch your steps just in case.
Do not venture to Colored Canyon if it looks remotely like it could rain – flash floods turn slot canyons into death traps. Luckily it hardly ever rains.
Camping & AccomodationThere are many spots in the canyon that are suitable to pitch some tents. The whole area is a desert wilderness and no water whatsoever is available. I don´t know if staying overnight is covered by the above mentioned permit – I wouldn´t take it for granted. A guide will surely be able to arrange something for you.
Coloured Canyon is usually done as a day trip and most people stay in Nuweiba and surroundings. You will find hotels there but a better option is to stay at one of the many beach camps between Nuweiba and Taba. I can recommend this place which I have enjoyed a lot.
Books, Maps & External LinksColoured Canyon will most likely be cursory covered in your standard guidebook to the Sinai. In depth information is very hard to come by – this site is the best I have found.
Good maps are equally hard to come by and are also not really needed. Here is one sketch map for very general orientation only.
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