Day trip from Dahab: the Coloured Canyon
The Colored Canyon near Dahab is a spectacular, narrow gorge in the Sinai Mountains, known for its stunning rock formations in colors such as red, yellow, purple and gold, formed by water erosion and minerals. The area offers a unique hiking experience with trails less than a meter wide and challenging boulders. Read all about this day trip from Dahab here.
Margriet deals with marketing, content and the website at EWDR. Besides her work, she is also an avid diver: she has been spending time underwater regularly since 2011, and in 2023 she obtained her instructor’s license. She has dived in several places around the world and was diving in Dahab early this year. In this blog, she talks about the day trip to the Coloured Canyon near Dahab.
On our last day in Dahab, we are going to the Coloured Canyon! We saved this especially for the last day, since we don’t fly back until around 10pm. So a no fly day before departure was not necessary, but on this last day when we cannot dive, so it is a perfect trip. We are picked up from The Bridge at 08:00 , so we have plenty of time to have a leisurely breakfast. And that’s nice, because the breakfast here is super and if you choose the pancakes you get served a piece of art.
At 8:00 a.m. sharp, a 4×4 is waiting with driver and guide. It is not the most comfortable car, since the benches face each other and are low to the floor. We do have plenty of room to lie down, should we want to. In addition, the car is filled with a large tank of water and stuff to make fire.
After half an hour, we made a first, short stop. We stopped at a rock, where an opening and cave had formed. It looks like this was made by humans, but it seems to have gone completely natural. You can also enter it, indeed it is a popular place in the summer among bedouins. It is and remains nice and cool inside the cave, so it is an ideal place to escape from too hot summer nights. After a short visit, we drove on again. Beforehand, we didn’t actually know how long the drive would take. In fact, the canyon is not that far from Dahab at all, only after 40 minutes you leave the paved road and enter the desert. The involves: sand, dirt roads and more sand. We really did quite a bit through the sand. According to the driver, the most fun place to drive. A few times we actually took a hill down. We ended up driving a little over an hour in the desert before we arrived at the canyon.
When we arrived at the canyon, it was completely deserted. We had actually expected some people or other tourists to be there, but there was no one there at all. We left the driver and walked down a path toward the canyons. The temperature was pleasant: 24 degrees in the sun, definitely not too hot to do the hike. We were here in early January, so perhaps the most perfect time for this hike.
Almost immediately we saw fossil coral, which is bizarre in the middle of the desert. Our guide tells us that this whole area was formed by water and that some people claim to have read in the Koran that every desert was sea first. He has never read the latter himself, but he is convinced it could be.
The trails start out wide, with plenty of space around us and a dirt path. As soon as we round the first bend, the path narrows and we really enter the canyon. The first part is still “white,” but it is already very impressive. The path winds between the walls. If this were underwater, this would be a fantastic dive site!
After a short stretch, the spectacle began: color! Stripes, shapes and arrows everywhere, all formed by nature itself. It looked breathtaking, especially where the sun shone on some parts and the rocks seemed almost golden. The path slowly became narrower, and in a few places we really had to climb.
At one point we came to a section where you could choose: jump down a meter, or “walk” down slowly with your back against the wall and your feet against the opposite wall. We chose the latter option. Not only safe, but also convenient, because what if you misjudge a jump and get stuck in the canyon? Walking down was also funny. The guide does it at a fast pace which makes it seem very easy, but then when it’s your turn it’s a little harder than it looked.
It’s a hike that requires a little bit of fitness to get all the way through the canyon. In total, it is about 800 meters long, with walls about 40 meters high. It took us 1.5 hours, but it’s worth every step. It’s so quiet there that you only hear your own footsteps, and the occasional bird.
After the canyon, we ended up at the restaurant. At least … at the remains of it. Twenty-five years ago there was a restaurant/bar here, the posts had been brought in by camels. Now there was hardly anything left, too few people coming here to keep the bar open and make money there. We walked through a spacious valley and passed another abandoned restaurant, where abandoned empty bottles told a lonely story. A little climb later, our car was waiting for us again.
Meanwhile, the driver had cooked for us and when we arrived, lunch was almost ready. We were first served Bedouin tea. This is a traditional, strong, sweet black tea from the Middle East, with aromatic desert herbs such as sage, thyme and cardamom. Lunch was also good: chicken, rice, vegetables and a fresh salad. Here the silence was interrupted by flies swarming on the food. So it’s a bit of watching out that they don’t get on your plate. At lunch we had a fantastic view of the desert we had just walked out of.
There is really nothing here, so everything was brought by ourselves, and along the way we even stopped to gather some dry branches so that a fire could be made.
After lunch we left again. We had already said to each other: this is no place to have car trouble. No range, and we had a flight to catch. Less than ten minutes later we came across a car that was stuck. They had been sitting there for quite a while. Fortunately, our driver helped; the problem was somewhere near the wheels.
Then we continued on our way: another two hours through the vast desert until we finally arrived back in Dahab.
Our tips
- Shoes: Choose sandals or just sturdy walking shoes that close high so sand doesn’t get in.
- Water: Bring plenty of water; it can get hot in the canyon.
- Sun protection: A cap or sunglasses is nice, especially on the sunny stretches.
- Clothing: Long pants are useful at the narrow entrances and bits where you have to climb.
- Best travel time: Go in winter, when the weather is more pleasant and it does not get too hot.
- Booking: Arrange your tour with The Bridge, so you can be sure you will be traveling with a good driver and guide.
White canyon, Red canyon & Coloured canyon?
Near Dahab are several impressive canyons to visit. The Coloured Canyon is perhaps the most famous, with its spectacular colors and unique shapes. There are also the Red Canyon, smaller and easier to reach, and the White Canyon, which also seems to be beautiful and is about 40 minutes from Dahab.
Be careful when booking a tour: many providers use pictures of American canyons to promote Coloured Canyon, and online you can also find reviews of people who ended up being taken to Red Canyon instead of the real Coloured Canyon.
We booked our tour through our stay at The Bridge, making sure that everything was right. The trip to the real Coloured Canyon is long, about a 2.5-hour drive from Dahab. First you will drive for 45 minutes on a paved road, then follow a route through the desert on dirt roads and dirt tracks. It’s a long drive, but the canyon is absolutely worth it!
