Erkowit

Erkowit sits at around a thousand metres in the Red Sea Hills inland from Port Sudan, high enough that cloud coming off the sea condenses on the slopes and supports vegetation in a region that is otherwise bare, and the British built a hill station there in the colonial period to escape the coastal heat. What remains of it is largely ruin. The Beja people graze the hills, and the contrast with the desert below is the point.

Background

Erkowit, also written Ar Kaweit or Arkawit, sits on a flat-topped mountain at 1000 to 1200 metres, around 40 kilometres from the Red Sea and 90 to 95 kilometres from Port Sudan, the country's 2nd largest city. Sinkat, Gebeit and Carthago are the nearest towns, and the Nile lies about 470 kilometres away. The small town has a mosque and a school, with a park close by.

Source: Wikipedia, "Ar Kaweit"

What's there

• The cloud-fed vegetation - green slopes in an otherwise bare region.
• The hill station remains - the ruins of the colonial-era resort.
• The altitude - around a thousand metres, cool compared with the coast.
• The Beja country - the herding ground the hills form part of.

When to go

November to February is the cool season, and the cloud is most reliable in the cooler months. March to May is hot even at altitude. The road up is winding.

Practical notes

The old hill station is ruined and there is little built to see. Vegetation depends on the cloud and can be sparse. Travel in Sudan requires arrangements made well in advance.

Nearby

Port Sudan is north, and Kassala is southwest.