The Coloured Canyon is a tight slot canyon cut into the rim of the Sinai's central massif, near the small town of Nuweiba on the Gulf of Aqaba. Walking the canyon takes about an hour and a half, scrambling over small rock steps between walls that close in to a few metres apart and then open out again into miniature amphitheatres. Iron and manganese leaching out of the sandstone have stained the rock in extraordinary mineral colours — rust, yellow, lilac, deep red — that change as the sun rotates overhead.
Most visitors come on a long day trip from Sharm: a three-hour drive each way, the canyon walk, a Bedouin lunch, and back in time for a late dinner. Operators in Naama Bay all run the trip in 4x4s. Wear walking shoes with grip — the rock is smooth in places — and bring water. The canyon is rarely empty in season but never crowded, and the silence between groups is part of the appeal.