Safsafa has so far the largest number of routes logged on it - unsurprisingly as it’s one of the largest mountains near to the village, and is easy to access.

The routes run from right around the South-East face, near the monastery, clockwise to the West face. Access is generally straight forward, walk along the road on the Eastern side, or the path that runs along the base from the North to the West until you find the route, then head up to the base. This can take from thirty minutes to an hour and a half depending on the route.

Descent can be difficult, the top has many false summits, and cols running down that stop in long drops. It is worth being prepared to abseil, however there are plenty of walking paths off - this is a mountain where having a knowledgeable guide can save many hours wandering in the dark. There is one very easy to follow path that runs from a large garden (“Boustan”) with several small buildings down the West side to Wadi Srej (fairly easy walk) or the East side via “Boustan gully” to the monastery road (scrambling).

Jebel Batta is a five minute car ride from St Katherine village, north from the main roundabout. It is the easiest in terms of access, with the routes starting a ten minute walk from the road.

All routes are on the North Eastern face, so are shaded for most of the day in the winter.

Descent is also straight forward, head West to scramble down off the main ‘summit’ block, then wind back around North to eventually come back down the North Eastern face.

Jebel Fara is the middle of the three main (climb-able) mountains on the south side of St Katherine village. Most of the routes are on the West face, stretching from the Northern end to further up Wadi el-Leja.

Descent from Jebel Fara is relatively straight forward, the easiest way is to head towards the northern end, and go down off the ‘back’ into Wadi Shrej.

Jebel Rabba is the mountain at the Southern end of the valley in which the village lies. This route is on the North West face, and is accessed via the South West road out of the village.