Who are we?
The Red Sea Mountain Trail is a community tourism project, created by members of the Khushmaan. The Khushmaan are a clan of a Bedouin tribe called the Maaza, who hold the northern half of Egypt's Red Sea Mountains and who trace their roots to the Hejaz of Arabia. The Red Sea Mountain Trail launched in 2019 as the sister project of the award-winning Sinai Trail. Egypt's government has closed almost the entirety of the nation for hiking tourism: as of 2024, hiking is only allowed in a few small areas with overnight journeys on Egypt's long-distance hiking trails forbidden. The Red Sea Mountain Trail is as a result currently closed: it will return in the future if Egypt's government makes permits available in a system that remains fair, accessible and fully legal to communities across the remote parts of the nation. ​
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Ben Hoffler
Ben Hoffler has worked with Bedouin communities across the Middle East to create some of the region's flagship long-distance hiking routes in the last decade. Alongside the Red Sea Mountain Trail, he is a founder of the Sinai Trail, Wadi Rum Trail and Bedouin Trail. Author of Trailblazer's Sinai: The Trekking Guide he has lived in the high mountains of St Katherine in the Sinai for over a decade. Alongside his work on long-distance trails he has helped create several specialist mountain challenge routes in Egypt. He believes in the power of tourism to make a positive impact when managed responsibly and continues to volunteer his time in developing new projects in the region. He is currently based in the deserts of Saudi Arabia, where he has been involved in developing new long-distance trails for the nation.
Tony Howard & Di Taylor
Tony and Di have been creating grassroots tourism for decades. Tony led the British first ascent of Norway’s unclimbed Troll Wall in 1965. He co-founded climbing company Troll and created the climbing sit harness design still used today. In 1984, Tony and Di’s team discovered then developed climbing and trekking in Wadi Rum, helped by Rum’s Zalabia Bedouin. Exploration of Jordan’s trekking, canyoning, climbing and caving culminated in their initiation of the award winning Jordan Trail. They also climbed in Sinai and the Red Sea Mountains in the 1990s. Their books include climbing and trekking guides, Tony’s award-winning Troll Wall and his autobiography, Quest into the Unknown. They are a source of advice to the RSMTA and we hope will scout parts of the route in the future.
Martina Sedlakova
Originally from the Czech Republic, Martina has spent most of the last decade working in different parts of Europe and the Middle East. An Arabic speaker, she worked at the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Cairo, before switching to Holland to manage projects for SPARK; a charity supporting access to education for refugees. Her entry to the world of trails came in 2015, when she managed a World Bank grant assigned for Masar Ibrahim Al Khalal: a long-distance hiking trail in Palestine. She also worked on developing the Sinai Trail and a new trail in Saudi Arabia. Martina's focus is on growing tourism projects that focus ownership firmly in the hands of local communities. She helped strengthen the ownership body of the Red Sea Mountain Trail and gives ongoing advice.
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