A new type of tour across Egypt breaks new ground for women working in tourism. Sinai Trail offers Egypt’s first-ever, long-distance hiking trail tour, led by Bedouin guides intent on taking the region’s tourism into their hands.

Uniquely, a portion of the tour guides are women, even though the conservative Bedouin traditions mean Bedouin women are rarely seen outside the home or their communities. The female guides say while the newfound jobs go against tradition and culture, their families need the extra income — plain and simple.

The nearly 350-mile trek takes place over 42 days in the remote Sinai Peninsula mountains. There are eight different Bedouin tribe guides that participate in the tour, each coming along for a different leg of the journey.

The only caveat for the female tour guides? They can only lead groups of female tourists and must return back to the villages before nightfall.

During the tour, travelers learn about the local landscape, plants and herbs, history, legends and the various Bedouin tribes. In the case of the female-led tours, the female travelers return to the villages with their guides.