Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Makhtesh
Ramon
y
Road map
B5. Route 40, 80 km
(50 miles) S of Beersheva.
@
from
Beersheba.
Visitors' Centre
Tel
(08)
l
658 8691.
#
8am-5pm Sun-Thu,
8am-4pm Fri (closes 1 hr earlier in
winter).
& 7
Makhtesh Ramon is Israel's
most spectacular natural
phenomenon: a crater some
40 km (25 miles) long, 9 km
(5 miles) wide, with a depth
of 300 m (1,300 ft). It is the
largest of three craters in the
Negev Desert, which scientists
believe were formed more
than half a million years ago
by a combination of tectonic
movement and erosion.
Traffic between Beersheva
and Eilat has to cross
Makhtesh Ramon, negotiating
switchback roads that wind
down to the crater floor and
back up again. Nabataean
caravans also travelled this
way between Petra and
Ovdat, and the ruin
ancient caravanser
stand at the centre
of the depression.
On the crater's
rim is the town
of Mitspe
Ramon, the main
base for exploring
this part of the
desert. The town's
Visitors' Centre has
exhibits on the geology of the
great crater and its flora and
fauna. It also has hiking maps
- but make sure to take plenty
of water if you go trekking
here. In Mitspe Ramon you
can also arrange to tour the
crater by camel or jeep.
Spectacular geological scenery at Timna National Park
Khai Bar Biblical
Wildlife Reserve
u
Road map
B6. Route 90, 35 km (22
miles) N of Eilat.
Tel
(08) 637 6018.
scimitar-horned oryxes,
wild Somali donkeys,
ostriches and the addax
antelope with their curved
horns. A Predator Centre
houses wildcats, caracals
(desert lynxes), foxes,
leopards and hyenas
in spacious enclosures.
l
@
from Eilat.
#
8:30am-5pm (Fri
& Sat: 4pm) Mon-Sat.
8
Obligatory
with departures every hour.
& 7
Khai Bar was
founded with
the aim of
reintroducing
some of the
reatures named in
the Bible, which
have since
vanished from
the Negev. Most
of the animals
roam freely,
safari-park style, in a 40-sq
km (15-sq mile) territory in
the Arava Valley. Visits can
be made only by jeep in the
company of a ranger guide.
Native species in the reserve
(not all of which receive
biblical mention) include
Timna National
Park
i
Road map
B6. Route 90, 30 km (19
miles) N of Eilat.
Tel
(08) 631 6756.
l
@
from Eilat.
#
8am-4pm Sun-Fri
(Jul &Aug 8am-4pm & 6-8:30pm
Mon-Thu,Sat; 8am-1pm Sun,Fri).
&
www
.timna-park.co.il
A caracal, one of the
biblical species at Khai Bar
Ancient remains indicate
working mines at Timna as
far back as 3000 BC, and the
Egyptians were mining
copper here around 1500 BC.
They left two temples
dedicated to the goddess
Hathor, protectress of mines.
A hieroglyphic inscription
mentions pharaoh Rameses III
offering a sacrifice to Hathor.
The mines continued to be
worked under the Nabataeans
and Romans before being
abandoned. With the added
attraction of some curious
mushroom-shaped rock
formations created by wind
erosion, the area has been
preserved as a national park.
An underground passage
gives access to the ancient
mines, and you can see
Egyptian graffiti representing
ibexes and hunters armed
with bows and arrows.
Modern sculptures set in the natural splendour of Makhtesh Ramon
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp261-2 and pp278-9
