Ein Avdat National Park

Of all Israel’s National Parks this is one of the most striking, most accessible. An easy hike of 15 minutes each way, suitable for all ages, it brings you to a spectacular spring at the junction of two towering cliffs of limestone which are home to dozens of nesting birds.

It is open to humans for eight hours only (8am to 4pm) to enable its real inhabitants to graze and drink in peace for the other 16.

How to get there?

It is possible to walk to Ein Avdat from the guesthouse in about one and a quarter hours but there is a narrow tarmac road that gets you there by car in three minutes and this is what I recommend.  You drive through the gate of the village and immediately at the roundabout turn left and drive up to the barrier where you pay to enter the National Park (28 shekel). The road descends in twists and turns down to the bottom of the wadi and then dives in a straight line into the canyon to a large shaded parking area where the walk begins.

The Hike

The landscape could not be more dramatic; monstrous boulders which have fallen off the cliff…

… on your right a vast cave that could accommodate a symphony orchestra…

… water and vegetation on both sides of the path…

… and an ancient shikma tree on your left…

… until you turn a corner and catch sight of the smooth limestone cliffs that form a great cathedral with a dark green alter at its end.

When I first came to Sde Boker you could swim in this water but now there are too many visitors for it to be either practical or safe.  Nevertheless today you can sit on the rock ledge that surrounds it with your toes in the water and your back to the towering cliffs, in the shade, and on the hottest of days feel the coolness coming off the deep, dark pool.

To go up or not to go up?

There is a bonus to this walk which requires a little preparation and a good head for heights.

Instead of returning to your car along the same path, you have the possibility to climb the cliff face to the top of the walls of the canyon and arrive at Upper Ein Avdat. 

The climb

It is not challenging and not even that much hard work but it is a climb of about 60 meters on steps, over rocks and finally up a ladder. You start by climbing a staircase carved in the rock…

…which takes you directly above the pool to a little woodland…

… then past caves that were once inhabited by monks…

… and finally over the top…

… then to a parking area with a rudimentary snack bar where your car will await you. The climb takes a good half an hour.

Logistics needed

‘How did my car get there?’  I hear you ask.

This is where the preparation was required. You are now about 12 km by road from where you started. Prior to the walk two cars drive to Upper Ein Avdat and one (usually mine) returns to the village with both drivers in it.  At the barrier/entrance to the National Park next to the gate to the village, the rest of the party who have been waiting patiently (for ten minutes) get in the car and I drop you all off at the place where the walk begins. The ascent from the pool to the top of the cliff takes about an hour. It is worth noting here that from the woodland (ascending) the path is one way only; you can go up but you are not allowed to go down for reasons of safely.

It is too short?

You would like to make it longer? Or you don’t have a car? You have two ways to go.

There is a trail that will take you to the Nabatean city of Avdat (more logistics needed, your car will have to be taken a bit further, or you will be able to catch a bus to come from Avdat). Add 1h30 walking plus time to visit Avdat.

Or you could come back via Nahal Haverim (red trail). All together about 4 and half hours.