Faith-Based Travel

The Holy Family Trail in Egypt

Retrace the Flight into Egypt — the journey of the Virgin Mary, Joseph and the Infant Jesus through 25 holy sites from the Sinai to Upper Egypt. Amisol designs Christian pilgrimage programmes for parishes, faith-based tour operators and Coptic study groups, recognised by the Vatican as an official pilgrimage route.

A pilgrimage 2,000 years in the making

According to the Gospel of Matthew, the Holy Family fled to Egypt to escape the persecution of King Herod. For more than three and a half years they travelled across the country, leaving a trail of churches, springs, sycamores and monasteries that Coptic Christians have venerated since the earliest centuries of the Church.

In 2017 Pope Tawadros II and the Egyptian government formally launched the Holy Family Trail as a 25-site pilgrimage route. In 2022 the Vatican officially recognised the route, opening it to Catholic pilgrims worldwide. Amisol works with Coptic clergy, Catholic dioceses and Christian tour operators to deliver authentic, theologically sound itineraries.

The 25 holy sites — by region

Sinai & The Eastern Delta

  • Farma (Pelusium)
  • Tell Basta (Bubastis)
  • Mostorod
  • Bilbeis
  • Samannoud

Wadi El Natrun & Cairo

  • Wadi El Natrun monasteries
  • Matareya & the Virgin's Tree
  • Zeitoun
  • Babylon Fortress & the Hanging Church
  • Abu Serga (Saints Sergius & Bacchus)

Middle Egypt

  • Maadi & the Church of the Virgin Mary
  • Gebel El Teir & the Virgin Mary Monastery
  • Bahnasa (Oxyrhynchus)
  • Ashmunein (Hermopolis Magna)
  • Dairut & Qusqam

Upper Egypt

  • Mount Qussqam / Deir Al Muharraq Monastery
  • Asyut & the Virgin Mary Monastery at Durunka

How Amisol designs Christian pilgrimage

Daily Mass & liturgy

Coordinated Mass at Coptic, Catholic and Anglican churches along the route.

Coptic & Catholic guides

Egyptologists and theologians fluent in Scripture and the patristic tradition.

Spiritual companion guide

Each pilgrim receives a printed devotional with readings for every holy site.

Who we work with

  • Faith-based tour operators in the UK, US and Europe
  • Catholic and Coptic Orthodox parish and diocesan groups
  • Christian travel agencies and pilgrimage specialists
  • Seminaries, universities and theological study groups

Bring your pilgrims to Egypt

Request a sample 10 or 14-day Holy Family Trail itinerary, group rates and the FAM trip schedule for parish and operator leaders.

Request a pilgrimage proposal