Ein Avdat National Park in Israel

Having posted my 100 Places to Visit in Israel page, I decided to follow it up with occasional “spotlight” posts, sharing some information about each place, personal impressions and pictures from our visits. I’ll start with one of the places we visited fairly recently: Ein Avdat in the Negev desert.

What Is Ein Avdat?

Ein in Hebrew means spring, so Ein Avdat is “Avdat Spring”. It can also be spelled as “En Avdat” or “Ein Ovdat”.  The main attraction is a relatively short trail through a natural canyon created by the flowing water. Water in this dry area is precious, and Ein Avdat is like a small oasis with trees and shrubs. Ein Avdat is a carefully maintained small National Park (national parks in Israel are usually pretty small).

Location and Times

Ein Avdat is located in the middle of the Negev desert – the southern part of Israel. It’s right off road no. 40 which connects Be’er Sheva with Eilat. It takes approximately two and a half hours to reach from either Tel Aviv or Jerusalem. It can be a stop on the way to Eilat, or part of a few days of touring the Negev desert and its many attractions.

It can get very hot here during the summer, so if you can, visit during fall, winter or spring and avoid hot days. If you’re here during the summer, be at the gates as soon as the park is open, so that you finish the hike before it gets too hot. Make sure everyone is wearing a hat and drinking lots of water.

The park opens daily at 8AM and closes at 4-5 PM (depending on the time of year). There is an entry fee and the park is regulated by park keepers. You can’t go into the water. In fact, you’re asked to avoid as much as touching the water, as they are reserved for the animals.

You’re not allowed to eat inside the park so no need to carry much other than lots of drinking water and your camera.

See the park’s official web page for detailed hours, current prices and phone numbers.

How to Tour Ein Avdat

There are two ways in which you can experience this little park. The first is to walk the circular trail which takes you to the main pool and waterfall and then returns towards your point of entry. It’s a fairly easy hike and quite short (under a mile for the entire walk), but take the time to take in the view. Once back in your car, you can drive to the upper parking lot and enjoy the view from that side of the canyon.

Alternatively, you can walk past the waterfall, reach the upper pools and there climb up and out of the canyon. The climb is regulated with steps carved into the rock and metal ladders. It’s not very difficult and kids can manage it fairly easily. The only problem is that this is a one-way path, mostly for safety reasons. Once you reach the top, you arrive at the upper parking lot and you need a car to get back to the entry point. You can’t walk it back above – or rather you can, but it’s a very long hike on the high-traffic road in the desert sun, so not recommended at all. You have to either have one of your group members do the circular path and bring the car over to the upper parking lot, or use two cars.

Ein Avdat Highlights

• A beautiful deep canyon.
• The clear water stream along your path.
• The big waterfall – a unique feature in the desert.
• Ibyx watching along the canyon (look for them on the other side of the canyon, as they shy away from people.
• The view from the upper viewpoint, as you finish your climb.

Personal Experience

We’ve visited this park in February 2010 and had a great time. I did the circular path and got the car to the upper parking lot and the rest of the family climbed up. We all had a great time and the climb was very enjoyable and not too difficult for the kids (aged 6 and 8).

We were lucky to get the post-floods views and the streams were full of water. Everything was very clean and the park people were friendly yet very clear about their “no food on park grounds” policies.

Special Notes

Do not confuse the Ein Avdat National Park with Avdat National Park. They’re fairly close by but still separate. Avdat National Park is an Unesco National Heritage Site that focuses on the remains of an ancient Nabatean city.

Ein Avdat Pictures

You can view more pictures of this place in the En Avdat album on my Facebook fan page. You don’t have to be my Facebook friend to see them – everything on the fan page is public. Do become a fan to get all of my Facebook public updates!

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