“Taste of Nitzana” Bicycle Tour

 Starting Point: Club Ramon Spa Hotel, Mizpe Ramon. Transport from the Hotel to Nitzana.122

The trail is marked – updated biking maps are available.

 We start the tour at the entrance to the Nitzana Educational community. Ride south toward Tel Nitzana, passing by the Raful Farm and the Belzberg tree coppices. Tel Nitzana is visible at 1.5 Kms, rising high above the plain, with an ancient ruin at its top. Reaching the Peace Monument – a long row of columns – turn east to the left and cross the road through the underpass.

 Nitzana was identified as a Nabataean town by British archeologists already in the 19th century. Much information about the site is available at the Nitzana Museum. Climb the Tel from the parking lot.

 Descend from the Tel and pass it on the south-east. Here, at the foot of the hill, the very deep wells that served the inhabitants of the town in different eras are still visible. Also visible is the Memorial to the soldiers of the IDF, killed in battle in this region during Israel’s War of Independence.

 From the ruins of Nitzana continue south on the old British road, toward Nitzana Cave and the “curves of Nitzana”. At the junction, find the bike-track signs which will take you on a dirt road to Nitzana Cave, man-made by the Nabataeans. The track climbs west, leading us back to the road. Continue on the road to the sign directing left to the “curves of Nitzana”. Here bikes must be left at the parking – due to reasons of protection of nature, entry to this site is on foot only. The moonscape of white soft Chalk is captivating.

 Continue in the ravine beginning at the sign to Tel Nitzana. Ride north toward the cultivated plots of Moshav Kadesh Barnea visible on the horizon. Along this ravine there are many traces of ancient terraces. Look sharply and you will also observe ancient Olive trees – remnants age-old agricultural activity.

 Ride on to the Selah coppice, irrigated with saline waters. Going on northward, you reach artist’s Danny Caravan Peace Monument already seen before from its east side. This monument is composed of one hundred columns, the first of which is on the border with Egypt; each column is inscribed with the word peace in a different language. Turn left and ride along the monument to the “hill of four columns”, overlooking the Sinai and the Israel-Egypt border crossing and goods terminal.

 From this observation point, ride back along the monument, until you reach the memorial coppice to Danny Perry. Immediately thereafter carefully cross the main road to the north and ride on the side road serving the cultivated plots. Along the road there are plantations of pomegranates (very sweet although watered with local saline water…), hundreds of dunams of hothouses with sweet cherry tomatoes, and the vineyards of the Kadesh Barnea Winery.

 In the Moshav (village) of Kadesh Barnea you may visit the winery, the artisanal producer of local honey, and the sauce factory (which is making use of the local tomatoes).