Duration: 4 hours
Map: Marked Trails 1:50,000, section 17.
Starting Point: Club Ramon Spa Hotel, Mizpe Ramon.
Drive on marked trails only! Leaving the marked trails is detrimental to the Nature Reserve.
The outing begins on the edge of the Ramon Crater in Mizpe Ramon, next to the Visitors’ Center.
You may visit the Center, which provides an excellent audio-visual geological explanation of the process by which the Crater came into being. After observing the terrain from on-high, we descend on road 40 through Independence Ascent and the serpentines to the Crater. After driving 8 Kms.,
turn right into Ramon Wadi on the black trail. After 500 meters, turn left onto the blue trail. Drive about 4 Kms. to Gevanim Mt. Climb to the top and enjoy an unparalleled panoramic view of the entire Crater. Don’t forget to look down and catch sight of the fossils!
Descend very carefully from Gevanim Mt. on the blue trail to the junction of road 40. Turn left to the main road, and after only about 150 meters turn right onto the green trail following the signs for “Nahal Gevanim”. Drive about 3 Kms. in the scenic channel of this Wadi and enjoy the sight of the numerous Acacias, until you reach the junction with the Petroleum Road, marked black. Turn left and advance 150 meters to the green trail leading right to Ein Saharonim, which is 2 Kms. away. After parking, we shall pay a short visit to the spring and the Nabataean Caravanserai.
Experienced all-terrain drivers only may continue to Dekalim Ascent (red trail, difficult navigation). At the top of the Ascent turn left onto the black trail, which leads into the incredible channel of Ardon Wadi. Driving here we shall see the various dikes, such as the “father and son”, the “black heart” or the “Ariha”. A dike is a sheet of magmatic rock that rose from the depths to become “imprisoned” in a crack in the colorful pre-existing clay rock. These dikes became visible due to wind and water erosion processes creating the Ardon Wadi. We enjoy a unique geological phenomenon!
Continue up-stream in Ardon Wadi to the Ein Saharonim parking, and from there drive to the Be’erot Campsite. It is possible to stop here for water, coffee or restrooms. After a short rest, continue to the main road (road 40), turn right and return to Mizpe Ramon.
Return to rest at the Club Ramon Spa Hotel.
Organized by Ramon Extreme.
For additional information call +972 (0)8 658 6107.