DARB AL-HADJ

Impressive views await you on Route 12, which runs along the Egyptian border and climbs above the Gulf between the Eilat mountains in the west and the Sinai mountains in Egypt. This is the ancient pilgrims' route (Darb al-Hadj), laid out in the early 8th century by the Egyptian sultan Mahmud ibn Tulun to link Cairo to Mecca via the Sinai desert. The view stretches over the Gulf and the Jordanian mountains, red at sunset. From Eilat, after a sharp bend in the road, a track leads to the splendid Mount Yeroham Lookout.