The Three Peaks Egypt Challenge was founded in 2015 by the same team behind the Sinai Trail: Egypt’s first long distance hiking trail. Our team oversees the ongoing development and growth of the challenge, provides information about it as widely as possible, and fixes official challenge attempts.
FARAJ MAHMOUD A Bedouin of the Jebeleya tribe, Faraj Mahmoud grew up in the highlands of St Katherine and is a leader of the tribal community today. He began guiding as a teenager and built up a formidable knowledge of the Sinai’s mountains and deserts over several decades. Known for his vision and bridge-building capacity, he is one of the original founders of the Sinai Trail and manages the project today on behalf of eight Bedouin tribes. Alongside his work for the Sinai Trail, he owns a Bedouin Camp and fixes work for NGOs, universities and media organisations in the Sinai. He is a founder of the Three Peaks Egypt Challenge and fixes logistics for official attempts on the challenge today.
SALEM RAMADAN Salem Abu Ramadan is another tribesman of the Jebeleya, from St Katherine. He walked further than any Bedouin of the region in scouting routes for the Sinai Trail, walking thousands of kilometres over five years. Today, he works as a head guide on the Sinai Trail. He is also a founder and head guide of the Three Peaks Egypt Challenge. Salem has guided dozens of challenges on the route, including individuals and groups from all around the world. He is a mountain man, known for his toughness, excellent route-finding and knowledge of the Sinai and its mountains. Nobody of his generation from the Bedouin has walked the mountains of the Sinai more widely.
MOSTAFA ABUL FADL Originally from Egypt, Mostafa spent long parts of his childhood in Saudi Arabia. He was part of the first group to walk Egypt’s Sinai Trail in 2016. He began working for the Sinai Trail soon after and now fixes trips and trains hikers for thru hikes. He also organises trips for its sister trail, the Red Sea Mountain Trail. Mostafa co-ordinates all hikes on the Three Peaks Egypt Challenge, acting as a bridge between the Bedouin guides and hikers from outside the region. He is a outstanding quiet leader whose work has underpinned the sustainable growth of Egypt’s most successful community tourism initiatives over the last three years.
BEN HOFFLER Ben is one of the founders of the Sinai Trail. He oversaw its development into one of the Middle East’s leading hiking trails from the very beginning. Parallel to the Sinai Trail, he created the Red Sea Mountain Trail with Bedouin of the Maaza tribe. He authored Trailblazer’s 2014 guidebook Sinai: The Trekking Guide and is a founder of the Sinai is Safe Campaign, which aims to create a counter-narrative to bad news about the Sinai. He developed the route for the Three Peaks Egypt Challenge and is one of its founders today. His professional focus is on exploring how modern tourism can help conserve the endangered heritage of the Middle East’s Bedouin communities.
