Hiking in the Negev around the Makhtesh Gadol: Hiking routes in the area of the Great Makhtesh (Makhtesh Gadol)that between Yeruham and the Zin Valley.
background
The Makhtesh Katan is the second largest of the Israeli erosion craters, it measures 14 km x 5.8 km. The difference in altitude between the bottom of the crater (around 320 m) and the surrounding mountain cliffs (approx. 660 m above sea level) is a good 300 m.
The exit of the Makhtesh is formed by a relatively narrow gorge in the northeast, which only carries water at times Nahal Hatira leaves the crater here.
Preparations
The article provides information about the preparations for tours in the Israeli desert Hiking in Israel.
Water / food
- On all tours there must be a sufficient Beverage supply be carried. In addition to the well-known drinking bottles, there are also drinking bags with valves that fold up when you drink empty, insulated drinking vessels and - quite popular in Israel - drinking systems with a water supply in a small backpack with a drinking tube with a valve.
- For a half-day tour you can get by with around 2 - 3 liters of drinking water. If you lose a lot of fluid through sweating, you must always take into account the associated loss of salt, and you should think about an adequate supply of salt (for example in the form of broth or crackers with a salt content).
- Catering must also be carried with you, in the sense of "no trace hiking", no waste may be left behind in the entire protected hiking area, which for example attracts wild animals. Fruits, dried fruits, nuts and savory biscuits washed before the start of the tour are good options.
clothing
- When choosing clothing, find out about the expected temperatures based on the weather forecast.
- Sun protection is a must for all hikes in Israel, especially if you travel to the country during the cold season. Visitors with fair skin types in particular run the risk of severe sunburn without adequate sun protection, a product with at least one Sun protection factor 30 is recommended.
- to avoid heat build-up ("heat stroke"), it is advisable to to wear a hat, Models with good coverage of the ears and neck region are particularly popular.
- the Footwear should be selected according to the soil conditions on the planned tour. Will be used for most hikes walking boots recommended, for tours on which waters are crossed or tours without rocky passages are recommended Trekking sandals.
further equipment
- high quality Hiking maps are offered in the national park shops or on the Internet, these are only labeled in Hebrew, but are very helpful together with an overview map with the colored route markings.
- in the Israel Hiking Map the Israeli hiking trails are overlaid with the corresponding color markings on the maps of the Open Streetmap. As usual with Open Streetmap, the maps are only displayed with the labels in the Hebrew national language. You can switch to English by clicking on the bottom symbol in the row on the right-hand side of the screen.
- In the sparsely populated desert regions, a GPS hiking navigation device does a good job. The English-language maps of shvil.net are available, for example, as grid maps for the TwoNav navigation devices (with compass and altimeter) and also for the CompeGPS Land software, which is suitable for smartphones with GPS functionality.
- The marked hiking trails along gorges and cliffs in Israel are almost always secured and provided with climbing aids (ladders or steel steps).
landscape
The Makhtesh Gadol is the second largest of the erosion craters in Israel, it is drained by the Nahal Hatira in an easterly direction.
Flora and fauna
In the winter and spring months, various plants bloom in the desert and the (evergreen) bushes and thorn bushes appear in a fresher green than in the summer months (from May) and in autumn.
climate
In the arid desert climate, the maximum temperatures in the winter months are around 12-15 degrees, at night 5-7 ° C, in summer a maximum of 30-34 ° C during the day and 18-20 degrees at night. Rainfall practically only occurs in the winter months, according to the website of the Israel Meteorological Service warnings about the danger of flash floods caused by downpours are published in the canyon-like gorges; if necessary, ask the national park rangers about dangers.
getting there
The well-developed road 225 crosses the Makhtesh Gadol in a northwest - southeast direction, it leads from Yeroham through the crater and after the outflow canyon reaches the road 206going east to the main road 25Dimona - Arava Depression continues, in a westerly direction this road ends after a short distance at the Oron works.
Fees / permits
No fees are charged for visiting the hiking region described.
mobility
The streets that are marked with double solid lines on the Israeli map can be driven on by car, those with the solid - dashed line can usually be driven with a car with a little ground clearance and appropriate caution, the double dashed lines stand for with four-wheel vehicles large ground clearance passable gravel roads (but easy to ride on a mountain bike). In the entire nature reserve, only appropriately marked slopes may be used, it is forbidden to drive over the edges of the slopes marked with boulders into the terrain.
Simple, dashed routes can be hiked on foot; Prohibition signs for bicycles indicate that the route by bike is usually impassable in reality.
Routes
link to the hiking map of the Israel Hiking Map
HaSnapir (2.1 km) 
- to the 1 starting point the tour can be reached on the road 206which of the 225 after crossing the Great Makhtesh in the direction of Oron Industries.
- together with the Israel National Trail leads the
black and white marked route approx. 500 m in a westerly direction. The hiking trail crosses the railway line in an underpass that is just under 150 cm high; adults have to stoop through the hole. - after the railway underpass the 1 Ascent, at first it leads over some ledges. The most impressive section is the almost 250 m ascent on one 2 Rock face, the path practically leads steeply uphill on the edge of the cliff sloping to the east.
- from 3 Summit plateau of the HaSnapir, which also offers groups enough space for a rest at the summit, there is a beautiful panoramic view of the plain of Ein Yorke'am Campground, which extends to Dimona.
black and white marked route approx. 500 m in a westerly direction. The hiking trail crosses the railway line in an underpass that is just under 150 cm high; adults have to stoop through the hole.- the path then descends in a westerly direction. At a 4 branch there are three possibilities: the
green-white route climbs steeply along a mountain flank to road 225 and reaches it in the gorge at the exit of Makhtesh (below the ascent is designated as "Small Fin". The The black and white marked path continues in a north-westerly direction and reaches the bottom of the Makhtesh at the "Colored Sands". The Israel National Trail continues in a south-westerly direction and follows the course of the Hatira Ridge. - a short stretch of the 5 descent is secured with iron clamp steps, then the path runs steeply down in a wadi and soon reaches a slope. In an arch it goes down to a deposit of reddish sandstone 6 Street 225 and the parking lot at the Colored Sands.
green-white route climbs steeply along a mountain flank to road 225 and reaches it in the gorge at the exit of Makhtesh (below the ascent is designated as "Small Fin". The - if you want to get back to the starting point on foot, you can use the
Take the blue and white marked footpath that leads from the campground at the "Colored Sands" in the river bed of the Nahal Hatira (parallel to the asphalt road) in an easterly direction (another 2 km to the return to the starting point).
Take the blue and white marked footpath that leads from the campground at the "Colored Sands" in the river bed of the Nahal Hatira (parallel to the asphalt road) in an easterly direction (another 2 km to the return to the starting point).Ein Yorke'am - Palmakh Ascent - Nahal Yamin (9.6 km)
No circular hike is possible for this tour, as there is no public transport along road 227, you either have to return to the starting point along the course of the road or organize the return with a second vehicle. If the distance of the entire tour is too long for you, you can visit the beginning of Wadi Hatira and the source of Ein Yorke'am.
- The tour starts at 2 Parking lot One Yorke'am Wandering parking lot at Ein Yorke'am. An alternative, especially for travelers who want to combine the tour with an overnight stay in the desert, is the start of the tour at a Yorke'am Camping Area, from which you can follow the blue and white marked route in about 1.5 km along the Nahal Hatira to access the Ein Yorke'am park area.
- from the parking lot leads the green and white marked footpath to A Yorke'am, after 250 m you come to the intersection with the blue-white route, which leads from the campground through the Nahal Hatira.
- from the cliffs you can look down over a rocky eruption to the headwaters of Ein Yorke'am. From a marked 7 One Yorke'am turnoff a footpath leads back a little. Some steps have been cut into the smooth rocks, which were previously used by the people who had to carry the water up from the spring.
- The spring pots of 8 A Yorke'am are filled with water in the winter months and are a source of drinking water for the wild animals of the desert environment, which is why staying here is only permitted until sunset.
- as a cliff below the headwaters makes the descent more difficult in Nahal Hatira, it is better to return to the green and white marked route back
- the 9 green and white route Path continues in Nahal Hatira, partly in the valley floor, partly on a ledge above the gorge floor
- From a saddle, you have a tremendous view down into Nahal Hatira, which falls into the depths over a huge waterfall, which is dry in the summer months. A footpath leads to one on the left 10 LookoutLookout point on a cliff, from which the view of the valley floor is even more impressive.
- on a narrow 11 Ledge the path now leads along a stretch high above the bottom of the gorge. Then the 12 Palmakh Ascent almost in a fall line in steep bends down into the canyon floor.
- For 2.2 km you follow the course of the Nahal Hatira and come to one 13 branch. Here the red and white marked route continues south, the Nahal Hatira has its base near the base of the Ma'ale Aqrabim ("Scorpions Ascent").
- You stay here on the green and white route, also called Israel National Trail is marked, follows the path into a side valley - into the lower section of Nahal Yamin.
- The Nahal Yamin can not be hiked through due to a rock break with a dry waterfall, one climbs up to it 14 Ascent Flank the 200 meters in altitude to the edge of the demolition.
- At the next crossroads, the blue and white marked route leads in a south-easterly direction to Tsafir Fortress (see also Hiking in Makhtesh Katan) continues, and with it also the Israel National Trail. To continue to Mishor Yamim Campground, turn north onto the green and white marked route.
- the path leads along the edge of the Nahal Yamin and descends in the upper part of the canyon floor. in the 15 Nahal Yamin you continue to climb and pass washed-out 16 Potholes at the upper end and ascends to the plateau.
- the one marked green and white 17 path leads to the street 227 and reaches them near the 1 Mishor Yamin Campground.
For the way back to the starting point you can follow road 227 and then the 206 for several kilometers if you could not organize return transport with a second vehicle.
shop
- The nearest shops can be found in Yeruham.
kitchen
- There are no places to stop for refreshments in the tour area and no drinking water points, food and drinking water have to be taken with you.
accommodation
camping
On different Camping areas can be stayed in different places around the Makhtesh. As is usual in Israeli nature reserves, the campsites consist only of a flat, graveled area, demarcated with boulders, without any infrastructure; Drinking water and food must be brought along and the rubbish must be taken with you, the overnight stay is free. The nature park area is to be left at sunset, after which it is only permitted to stay in the designated area of the "campground".
- 2 Colored Sands Campground in the occurrence of colored sand / sandstone in the east of the crater
- 3 A Yorke'am campground south of the exit of the crater, near the intersection between 225 and 206
security
With regard to crime, the security situation is harmless, theft and vehicle break-ins hardly occur in the hiking areas in the national park area (at most in the parking lots with a high number of visitors, if valuables are clearly presented in the car ...); At night, you may only stay in the designated campground areas in the protected areas.
The danger is more from natural threats: Above all, the glowing heat of the sun on summer days in the desert with only minimal shade supply (heat stroke, lack of drinking water), storm surges as a result of very rare but occasionally massive rainfall in the desert in the winter months, which the rivulets in the Wadis can swell into rapid streams. The entire water masses from the catchment area of the crater leave it at the narrow discharge point, if a flash flood warning has been issued, it is better to avoid the route in Wadi Hatira at the crater exit.
There is a risk of falling on the marked hiking trails, which are secured with iron steps in difficult places. Head for heights and Surefootedness are a prerequisite in the described area. In many places you can suddenly stand on a cliff over an abyss - the tours described are not suitable for small children.
trips
- great opportunities for hikes in the desert area also arise in the areas Little Makhtesh (Makhtesh Katan) and on Hatira Ridge.
- In any case, a visit to the ancient Nabataean city located a short distance away is worthwhile Mamshit.
Literature / maps
- Israel Topographic Hiking Map, 1: 50,000, sheet 14, only in Hebrew
- in the Israel Hiking Map the Israeli hiking trails are overlaid with the corresponding color markings on the maps of the Open Streetmap. The cards are, as usual with Open Streetmap, only displayed with the labels in the Hebrew national language, with a click on the bottom symbol of the row on the right edge of the screen you can switch to the English language.
