Al Karm Mountains Ecolodge
Sinai - Egypt

After about 5 hours of driving on-road from Cairo, all worries all concerns all wants seemed distant. Now I am parking the car in elTarfa oasis where the Bedouin Taxi Jeep was waiting to get me offroading across the mountains to reach this isolated Bedouin resort with my friends. No sea nor beaches. Just the Sinai wild footpaths zigzagging between the mountains with their wild beauty to lose ourselves into with the guides from the tribe of the Bedouin manager Jameel Atteya. The Egyptian mountains seemed unreal. This is all new to me.

That's what a friend once wrote me about his experience when he first went there. AlKarm is the name of the Mountain Ecolodge in Sinai and is managed and owned by Jebaleya tribesman Jameel Atteya and his family. It is situated in the St Kathrine's Protectorate where the Protectorate seems to have done a great deal to help them and other Bedouins there.

It's not your normal resort. While your base is at your room and al-mag3ad in ALKARM, the entire wadi gharba and surroundings (except where Homes of the tribe is) are your backyard where you can walk with your guide to fill your eyes with the remarkable views.

This page is for the SaharaSafaris members and serious Nature and Culture lovers who wish to share it with their friends and download the most important pieces of our own guiding materials without need to use the password-protected resources on SSC homepage.

Things change every now and then, so your feedback is much appreciated. If you're using any of this material, please give credits by name of author. Authors names are much better than the 'SaharaSafaris' label because it encourages people to share more. Thanks! -Mabrouk

More on Al Karm (here)

How to Enjoy AlKarm (please print here and keep)
Very rough description of hikes and 4-wheeling to ancient buildings and primeval views of the Sinai. In this document you'll find costs too. AlKarm has so much to offer for those who appreciate the walks in inspiring landscapes. There's much more from Safarsists reports on 'messages' archives in SSC homepage that you can search in by 'ecolodge' or 'alkarm'.

How to Get to AlKarm (please print here and keep)
Detailed Explanation on the three ways to get to AlKarm: 1-by hiking, 2-by own 4x4, and 3-by taxi. Details and phone numbers for reservation and what to expect and what to do. Always use GPSs cautiously!

GPS Waypoints and Maps for Hikers and 4X4ers
karmmapsat.jpg (download to print)
AlKarm map on a satellite image. Compare with contours map to see how mountains are shaped and where the road goes in wadis. Darker parts are igneous rocks and lighter colors indicate sand and gravel wadis and in northern parts indicates sedimentary rocks. You might like to ask on the SaharaSafaris forum about meaning of all this and how it affects your experience of the landscape.

GPS-AlKarmSinaiEcolodge.txt (download)
GPS waypoints for 2 trails in generic text format (suited for those who're coming from Cairo or Katrina). Enter manually into any type of GPSs. ALWAYS DEPEND ON GPSs WITH CAUTION (See GPS Safe Use).

The above information is not complete and are provided as is and as compiled by SaharaSafaris members. Use carefully and please send your feedback to me.

If you are subscribed to SaharaSafaris Forum, you can search the messages and photos archives for plenty of impressions from other safarists. Here's the link to the full downloads including Garmin's GPS points, more maps and how to hire a Bedouin truck for the offroading part to AlKarm:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SaharaSafaris/files/%21Sahara_Places/AlKarm/