When I found out that we were going to hike up Mt. Sinai during our Holy Land tour, I was undeniably ecstatic. I knew this was something I would probably never be able to do again! Mt. Sinai was where Moses received the Ten Commandments. It was definitely a valuable historical and religious site that I wanted to go to.
We were briefed about the trip before the tour group flew out from Manila, and I have to admit, after all the advice and precautionary tips mentioned, climbing up this mountain started to feel very daunting–most especially because I’m not a regular hiker.
Here are some of the things they mentioned.
- It takes a total of nine hours to climb–this is the average for beginners or non-hikers.
- There are no decent toilets.
- There are a total of seven pit stops going up where people who feel like they can no longer hike can rest and wait until the group passes for them on the way down. (You can’t go down on your own, for safety reasons.)
- Each pit stop serves coffee, hot chocolate, and snacks, so the group can always take a break there as well before resuming the climb.
- There’s an option to ride a camel for about 3/4 of the journey, but the last leg consists of 750 steps up to the peak. Camels are no longer allowed up this last leg.
- If any of us lived a sedentary life, our tour organizers highly recommended that we start exercising and getting our bodies physically prepared.
I wasn’t completely inactive, so I prepared by mainly altering my workout making sure I included leg strengthening and stamina building. I did a lot of squats, lunges, weighted step-ups, and running. I also bought entry level hiking shoes for better grip and compression leggings to help with the cold weather.
Micki Josue 