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The things to do in Southern Israel take you on an adventure to Masada, Ein Gedi and the Dead Sea – a hinterland beyond the big cities.
Israel is filled with barren, desert plains, canyons and mountain peaks. A vast expanse of land filled with natural wonders, you really would be missing out if you only kept yourself within the city confines of cosmopolitan Tel Aviv and historical Jerusalem.
I travelled to the arid lands, setting out from Jerusalem on a Southern Israel day tour with Abraham Tours. Their Masada Sunrise, Ein Gedi, and Dead Sea full-day, small group tour combines two small hikes in the cliff-encased desert with a plunge into the lowest point on the planet.
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Masada Desert Sunrise Hike from Masada Fortress
Considered one of the most iconic sites in Israel, the way to see the Masada fortress is to hike up to the cliff’s peak, where it sits atop a flat plateau for a front-row seat to watch the sun rise over it. You have to start your day around 3.30 am to begin your 90-minute journey from Jerusalem to the Judean desert to reach the cliff base, where the hike begins.
A fortification built by King Herod between 37 and 31 BC, Masada is known more for being the site of mass suicide in 72 AD, when nearly 960 Jewish took their own lives as a show of defiance to the Romans who were about to swarm Masada, two or three years after they had conquered Jerusalem.
A place of historical significance in marking the fall of the Kingdom of Judea, it now stands as a UNESCO World Heritage site, where you can wander among the many ruins.
It might be pitch black when you start the hike up, but the taxing one-hour climb through the winding ‘Snake Path’ is a picturesque race with nature as sunlight slowly creeps in brighter and brighter as you journey to the top. The orange hues not only guide you but wrestle for your attention as you regularly stop to take a look over the distant Jordanian mountains.
Not only is it a dazzling climb, but the most enticing of views stands at the top – 400 meters (1300 feet) from the lowest place on Earth, the neighbouring Dead Sea – where you enter an arena of happy tourists eagerly awaiting the official marker of the new day.
The Beatles’ “Here Comes the Sun” jubilantly blared from a portable stereo as people cheered and hugged – a magnificent and emotional moment before a stroll around the rubble and ruins of the old walls and palaces and the 45-minute walk back down!
Visiting the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve
A short drive from Masada and close to the shores of the Dead Sea is the vast plains of the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve, where lush greenery and trickling streams merge with broad cliff faces and beautiful waterfalls – an oasis in the desert.
Its unique climate was welcomed – the sun was beaming, yet only two hours north, Jerusalem was covered in snow! It almost felt as though we were in a different country.
We only had around 90 minutes to explore the park as part of our trip, although this was actually long enough to hike to all three waterfalls (the main one being David’s Waterfall) and back again without rushing. It’s not an arduous trek, but you still get to live out a mini desert adventure in one of Israel’s scenic natural spots.
Floating in the Dead Sea in the West Bank
Most people visit the Dead Sea from Jordan and look out across the waters to Israel, but the lowest point on earth – at 427m below sea level – is just as accessible on the Israeli side.
The perfect end to a day of hiking and exploring, we braved the slight chill of the air to float in the salty waters and cover ourselves in the famous healing, mineral-enriched mud.
While a lake, the Dead Sea is named because no living thing thrives there due to its salinity. This means we humans are the only life forms which inhabit it – floating, posing and giggling away without a care in the world.
Was it healing? Absolutely. I emerged with a few red marks that looked like giant bites, and my face was red because I decided to war paint my cheeks with mud. However, after a couple of hours, this soon disappeared, and my skin felt incredible.
This is one place where you will feel happy, relaxed and healthy, at the same time as bonding with those around you in a bubble of extreme fascination. It’s also one of the most spectacular landscapes you can stand, swim, wobble, float, and play in, and for that alone, it is a must-see.
Things to Know about Southern Israel
- While entering an area of the West Bank, this area is within ‘Zone C’ – the area under full Israeli control – which doesn’t require passport checks.
- This full-day trip costs £48/ €58 / $79 and includes transportation to all sites, to and from Jerusalem, and entrance to the private beach at the Dead Sea.
- Abraham Tours was one of my partners during my trip to Israel. This review is my own honest opinion, in exchange for a complimentary space on the tour, so that I could hike outside of Jerusalem and then tell you all about it.
Martina says
Hey Becki
Wow, I have to say, Israel is not a place I think of when I think hiking and waterfalls! But from the looks of things – I should! What a pretty landscape.
The old fortress looks really interesting! Dawn hikes are amazing. And now I finally understand the final Judean People’s Front joke in Monty Python’s the Life of Brian. I didn’t realise that was a thing that actually happened, Interesting.
Is this sort of place easy enough to get to on your own, or is a tour of some sort kinda necessary?
Martina 🙂
Becki says
It’s a bit of a way out, but sure you could if you hired a car or driver!
Korep says
cool, good story and foto.. i like it..
regards…