Hammam Faraun ('Pharaoh's Bath') thermal springs on the Sinai Peninsula's western coast, overlooking the Gulf of Suez, are among Egypt's most spectacular geothermal sites — chloride-rich hot springs emerging from a cave at the base of a limestone cliff directly at the sea's edge, with water temperatures reaching up to 70°C and the Sinai mountains rising dramatically behind. The springs are traditionally associated in Islamic tradition with the story of the Pharaoh Ramesses II, and the cave from which the boiling water pours into the sea has been a pilgrimage and curiosity site for centuries. The dramatically inhospitable geological setting — boiling water emerging from cliff-face caves above the Red Sea — makes Hammam Faraun one of the most visually arresting thermal sites in Africa.
Insider tip — Hammam Faraun, Pharaoh's Bath, is one of Egypt's most dramatic hot springs, where superheated water at up to 70 degrees Celsius jets directly from the base of a 200-meter limestone cliff into the Gulf of Suez. Legend holds that the Pharaoh's army drowned here during the biblical Exodus, giving the spring its evocative name. Safe bathing is possible only in cooled mixing zones at the cliff base where the boiling spring meets cold seawater. The drive along the rugged Sinai coastal road from Suez is spectacular, with the cliffs turning amber at dusk.