Nikhel (Arabic: نِخِل  ; also spelled and pronounced Nikhl  ) is administratively a city (though realistically more of a town) and the capital of the eponymous markaz (county) North Sinai Governorate, Egypt.

Nekhel was the ancient capital of the entire Sinai province of Egypt, thanks to its outstanding strategic location at the exact center of the peninsula.

The region provided the Egyptian Empire with minerals, turquoise, gold and copper, and well-preserved ruins of mines and temples are excavated there.

Several Sultans built forts and castles in Nekhel to defend Egypt from Crusades of Middle East and Red Sea.

Nekhel played a significant role as an influential military base for the Egyptian Army during Middle Ages in defeating Crusades and freeing numerous provinces of the Islamic Caliphate.

The altitude of the city is about 420.6 m (1,380 ft) above the sea level, however nearby El Tih mountains are of higher elevation.

Nekhel Bedouin tribes practice cattle breeding and agriculture which depends on rain and partially common snow.

Bedouin houses are simple, small stone structures with cane roofing, either incorporated in the garden wall, or standing alone a bit further up from the wadi floor, away from the devastating flash floods that sweep through after occasional heavy rains.

Smaller rock shelters and store rooms are constructed under boulders and in walled up caves and are found everywhere in the mountainous area.

Agriculture in Nekhel depends mainly on water wells which are found basically in Contilla, Tamd, Bir Grid and Khafga.

Water was flown in narrow conduits made of flat rocks sometimes for kilometers -they are still visible but today gardens rely on plastic pipes (khartoom).

Also, there is a large number of feral donkeys in the mountains who migrate to the region and lower lying areas (reportedly as far as El Tur) in the winter and go back to graze for the more plentiful summer.

One of the principal goals of the Protectorate is to preserve the bio-diversity of the fragile eco-system, with an emphasis on the Nubian Ibex and the wild medicinal and aromatic plants.

There are springs, creeks, water pools, narrow canyons, steep wadis with huge boulders, amazing rock formations, barren plains with islands of lush vegetation.