Bedouin-style tent
Authentic Bedouin feasts in colourful tents…
Jeep tours and hikes along desert trails…
Camel rides, rappelling and bird watching…
Amazing landscapes and unpolluted air…
Shiatsu, reiki and soaking in a Jacuzzi…
Bedouin-style tent
All this can be found in the Arava region of Israel, located midway between the Dead Sea (the lowest place on earth) and the city of Eilat, on the tip of the Red Sea.
In the Arava you can spend the day touring or hiking in the breath-taking desert moonscape, discovering hidden springs and oases nestled in secret gullies. You can explore the remains of a fortress from biblical times; rope climb down the steep sides of riverbeds whose walls have been sculpted by winds and water for eons; or follow the ancient Spice Route, on trails trodden by camels carrying frankincense and myrrh to the Imperial Roman Empire. Follow this up with a soothing soak in a Jacuzzi and a restorative holistic treatment, or free yourself of chronic tension at a re-birthing workshop.
The Arava is less than half an hour from Tel Aviv by light plane, and there are regular twice-weekly flights. By road the trip takes three hours from Tel Aviv and only two from Jerusalem. The Arava is off the beaten track and is also a safe and quiet corner of the county. Special transport can also be easily arranged by the local Reservations Centre (please see contact details below).
Ein Yahav landing strip
The Arava boasts B&Bs in several different styles, ranging from wooden chalets to mud brick huts and Bedouin-style tents. Many are geared for families with children, with large play areas, while others offer a perfect romantic get-away. The region is well known for its sumptuous Middle Eastern banquet-style breakfasts which can be ordered at all the B&Bs. Hostel-style accommodation is also available, as well as camping facilities.
Different types of B&Bs
The Arava offers an exotic variety of cuisines: Israeli and Mediterranean; Chinese, Italian, Japanese; and South American or Middle Eastern barbeque. You can dine at one of the region’s restaurants, visit a Bedouin tent as the guest of a local Bedouin family, have a picnic served to you in the middle of the desert during your day’s trek, or order a tasty home-cooked meal served to your door.
Welcome to the Cafe-bar Moa restaurant
Take the kids to the Spice Route Inn for a trip into the desert by camel or donkey. Come back hungry, sit on Bedouin rugs and scoop up mouthwatering homemade chumus and special yoghurt cream cheese (labeneh) with pitas freshly baked over an open fire – you have never tasted anything like this before!
Authentic Bedouin feast
Climb up a hummock to view the sprawling environmental sculptures built by world-famous Australian sculptor Andrew Rogers, and then picnic on rolling lawns next to the idyllic lake in the “Vanishing Valley” at the Sapir Park. On your way out of the Valley, admire the colorful sculptures of local artists, and then visit the nearby Antelope Park. After you marvel at the hundreds of majestic antelopes and impalas roaming the park, you can visit a replica of Noah’s Ark filled with cuddly animals, then sip a cup of spicy, frangrant Turkish coffee at the Park’s café.
The Arava also offers agricultural tours - the farming methods used in the Arava are among the most advanced in the world, and the region produces more than half of the vegetables exported from Israel. Tour our research and development station, bite into colourful capsicums that look too perfect to be eaten, and see the very latest methods used to make the desert bloom, as well as the fish-breeding station, where ornamental fish and barramundi are raised. Aloe vera, the plant with unique healing qualities, is also grown on one of the farms in the region, and you can tour the farm (free of charge) and purchase some of the health and cosmetic products made with this wonderful plant, at wholesale prices.
Agricultural tours for visitors
The Arava region is rich with history and archeology from the time of King
Solomon right on through the Roman and Ottoman Empires. There are beautiful
trails, canyons and dry river beds (wadis) to explore on foot, by bicycle, and
by off-road or regular vehicle. During the winter months the weather is mild and
pleasant, and when the rains come to the Negev Heights, the creeks and canyons
fill with water, and the delicate desert flora blooms. In a day’s touring you
can see ruins from thousands of years ago, as well as beautiful natural
phenomena of the desert. Following are a few of the many possibilities:
The
Ancient Spice Route started in
Arabia, wound its way through the Nabatean
treasury at Petra in Jordan, then crossed the Arava from East to West, finally
emerging from the desert at the port of Gaza. From there incense and perfume
were shipped to first the Grecian and then the Roman Empires (detergents hadn’t
yet been invented, so the need for things that smell good was great indeed!).
Along the route you can see the ruins of way stations for the camel trains, as
well as an army outpost built high up on a hill to keep an eye on the caravans
with their precious cargos.
The Via Nova Taurina was built in the first century AD by the Roman Emperor
Taurinus, along a string of oases from the Jordan River to the Arava. The road
was specifically built from North to South in order to avoid those pesky
Nabateans! One of the most important stations along the way was the Hazeva
Fortress, a Roman Army fort. The Romans were famous for their bathhouses, heated
by hypocausts – tunnels running under the floors, through which hot air was
forced - which can still be clearly seen today. The site of the fortress has
been settled since the time of King Solomon and the kings of Judah, and is
believed to be the site of biblical Tamar. The oldest tree in Israel grows at
the fortress, a jujube tree more than 1,000 years old.
Wander through the Wilderness of Zinn, crossed by our forefathers during their
40 years in the desert. When the Zinn River floods, the waters rush through the
Marble Hills (which appear to be huge slabs of marble), and cascade down into a
deep canyon on the way to the Dead Sea. Follow the river to the Oasis of Zinn,
and rest a while under its waving palms before continuing to Mt. Zinn and the
Bulbus Field. Bulbuses are a unique geological formation, round rocks of various
sizes scattered over a large area. Some people have said that it’s like being in
a field of giant loaves of bread!
After the rain
If you enjoy bird watching, then visit us in the spring or autumn, when huge flocks of birds make their way to and from Africa. The region’s reservoirs and date orchards are favorites with many species, and the flocks can be seen flying in formation every morning and evening, or just lazily rising on hot air currents. The region also offers visitors some insight into a unique project. For the past 30 years scientists have been studying groups of Arabian babblers, a cooperative breeding bird (which is also found in Australia). The birds have become so accustomed to human presence that you can visit the reserve at sunset, and as the birds settle down for the night, they will hop around you fearlessly. This is the only place in Israel where it is possible to observe birds in their natural environment, up close and personal.
There are several practitioners in the Arava who are experts in shiatsu and Zen shiatsu, reiki, reflexology, Swedish, Thai and Indian massage, aromatherapy and cupping. There are also some very special forms of treatment available, such as hot and cold stone therapy (for relief of chronic pain), and re-birthing workshops which induce a state of deep relaxation.
The Arava is just next door to both the Negev Heights and the Dead Sea. One
of the wonders to be seen is geological formations called craters, which can be
found only in the northern Sinai desert and the Negev. Unlike craters formed by
meteorites hitting the earth, these craters are the result of the hard outer
layer of earth collapsing onto lower layers of soft sandstone. The result is
quite breathtaking – a sheer 300 metre drop to an almost perfectly round huge
crater. The craters provide us with a “window”, affording a look at geological
strata all the way back into the ancient past.
If you are planning to visit other parts of the Middle East, the Arava is
conveniently situated for trips to both Petra in Jordan and the pyramids of
Egypt.
Arava landscape
For further information, please surf our website at www.arava.co.il or
contact the Information and Reservations Center:
Central Arava Regional Council, Tourism Dept., Sapir, M.P. Arava 86825, Israel
Tel.: +972-8-6582007 Fax: +972-8-6592255 Email:
tourism@arava.co.il
We will be happy to address all your queries and to assist you with any
arrangements, including accommodations, tourist attractions, and professional
guides for the kind of tour that would be most enjoyable for you.
June 2006
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