A bright blue spot in the middle of the northern "Dead Sea Rift", the Moab Mountains reflected in the Salt Sea and the Ha'Atakim cliffs rising west from the Judean Desert, very close to the Dead Sea. The northern Dead Sea is populated by many kibbutzim, bathing beaches and recreation facilities, restaurants and tourist attractions. On our routes we will get to know the sinkhole area, including the Genesis landscapes, which are mainly located at our hiking point near the Dratog Cliffs.

What is worth seeing besides the Dead Sea sinkholes near the Darat Cliffs?

◀ Salt mushroom or salt cookie trail 7 minutes drive from the cache of Mezoki Dragot. ◀ Observation in front of Mezoki Dragot on the Moab Mountains, the Dead Sea and the Judean Desert. ◀ Einot Tzukim Reserve or in its Arabic name "Ein Pashaha" with reed and acacia vegetation, many pigs, springs and many pools. ◀ The PEF rock that teaches us about the height of the Dead Sea or the depth of the Dead Sea. ◀ A tour of Qumran that tells us about the life of the Essenes in the north of the Dead Sea. ◀ Nature tour of the Kidron Valley and Qumran Valley. Nahal Tor and the Mashash Morba'at Gorge.

Tour / Trip to Sinkholes in the Dead Sea

Q: How were the Dead Sea sinkholes formed?

The Jordan, the main source of water for the Dead Sea, has not flowed into the Dead Sea for many years, causing the level of the Dead Sea to drop, retreat, and shrink. The water flowing underground from the Judean Mountains (the Jerusalem Mountains in the northern part of the Dead Sea) seeps down to the clay layer, and when it reaches the lowest place in the world, the Dead Sea, it dissolves the layers of salt that were a sea only a few years ago. So, as mentioned, the fresh water dissolves the base of the salt hills, and then the layer of salt dissolves and falls down. This is the sinkhole. There are sinkholes of different sizes and depths. We don't only have sinkholes in the Dead Sea. Sinkholes are formed wherever water acts underground on its surroundings, and for example, we have a huge sinkhole near Moshav Azaria in the Shephelah.

Q: How much water evaporates each year in the Dead Sea?

650 million cubic meters of water, or in other words, 1.1 to 1.2 meters every year. It should be noted that every day or two we can see changes in the sinkhole routes, and this requires great professionalism from the sinkhole tour guides.

"Sinkholes, Diamonds and Minerals" in the northern Dead Sea.

Approached with spiciness and a smile

The technical details

Booking the tour

The tour is open to everyone, and you can join the tour from one person to a large group, by reservation in advance.

Tour times

◀ 1/17

◀ 1/31

◀ 8/2

At 10:00.

cost

185 NIS per person.

Meeting point

Mitsukei Datrogat checkpoint.

Dead Sea Sinkhole Tour: The amazing thing about the tour is that the tour is in an area where 50-60 years ago there was a sea, so you get an amazing experience of seeing all the water phenomena that were in the area, in a kind of tour as if inside the earth.

On the tour we will see: small lakes, hot and cold water springs, layers of salt that form a kind of "diamond", desert water vegetation, the beautiful Ha'Atakim cliff, coves in the north of the Dead Sea, the green pool and the pink pool, swimming (optional) in living water springs in pools and streams all the way to the Dead Sea.

Tour location:

North Dead Sea

A bright blue spot in the middle of the "Dead Sea Rift" The northern one, the Moab Mountains reflected in the Dead Sea and the cliffs of the Atakim rising west from the Judean Desert, very close to the Dead Sea.

The northern Dead Sea is populated by many kibbutzim., beaches and recreational facilities, restaurants and tourist attractions.

We will explore the sinkhole area on our routes. Including the Genesis landscapes, which are mainly located at our hiking point near the Dargot cliffs.

Sinkholes in the Dead Sea and Judean Desert began in the 1870s, and today there are more than 8,000 sinkholes of various sizes and diameters.

The Jordan River, the Dead Sea's main source of water, has not flowed into the Dead Sea for many years, causing the Dead Sea's level to drop and its retreat and shrinkage.

The water flowing underground from the Judean Mountains (the Jerusalem Mountains in the northern part of the Dead Sea) seeps down to the clay layer and when it reaches the lowest place in the world, the Dead Sea, it dissolves the layers of salt that were a sea only a few years ago. So as mentioned, the fresh water dissolves the base of the salt hills and then the salt layer dissolves and falls down. This is the sinkhole. There are sinkholes of different sizes and depths.

Sinkholes are not only found in the Dead Sea. Sinkholes are formed wherever water acts underground on its surroundings, and for example, we have a huge sinkhole near Moshav Azaria in the Shephelah.

650 million cubic meters of water, in other words 1.1 to 1.2 meters every year.

It should be noted that every day or two we can see changes in the sinkhole routes, and this requires great professionalism from the sinkhole tour guides.

Tour structure:

* Clicking on each section opens extended information.

Along the entire route we will see: Small lakes, layers of salt that form a kind of "diamond", desert aquatic vegetation, the beautiful Ha'Atakim cliff and coves

Guide details:

Efi Nachmias

"Lives and breathes tourism for nearly three decades. Eclectically connected to the subtleties of tourism within the area"

◀ Graduate of the Military Academy in Kfar Maimon, majoring in Biological Studies of the Land of Israel, fighter and commander in the Golani.

◀ A member of the Jewish National Fund in the late 1980s with a lot of Zionist activity in the forest and on the trails.
The trips.

◀ Thousands of days of educational training and almost three decades of training for the general public.

◀ Graduate of Tadmor in Hotel Management, Land of Israel Studies, Tour Guide Course of the Ministry of Tourism in Wingate,

◀ Dozens of different courses and a lot of self-study.

Additional information and frequently asked questions

◀ Salt mushroom trail Or salt cookies 7 minutes drive from the Mtsuki Datrog store.

◀ Lookout in front of the steep cliffs On the mountains of Moab, the Dead Sea and the Judean Desert.

◀ Einot Tzukim Reserve Or by its Arabic name, "Ein Pashcha," which has reed and acacia vegetation, many pigs, springs, and many ponds.

◀ The PEF rock that teaches us about the height of the Dead Sea or the depth of the Dead Sea.

◀ A tour of Qumran that tells us about the life of the Essenes In the north of the Dead Sea.

◀ Nature tour In the Kidron Valley and Qumran Valley. Tur Valley and the Mashash Morba'at Stream.

At the Avnat intersection, there is a recommended restaurant and it is worth calling Nathaniel (travel with Nathaniel on Google).

The wonderful customers who were on the tour with Efi Nachmias recommend!

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Tour / Trip to Sinkholes in the Dead Sea