In the list of Masada, the Dead Sea and Ein Gedi I liked the idea of the latter the least. I didn’t look for pictures, I just pictured that there would be nothing there but desert. I was so incredibly wrong it was unbelievable. My mum and I took a guided day tour to these locations. When our guide told us to hike to David’s Waterfall I had absolutely no idea what to expect and I was surprised in the most wonderful way.

Ein Gedi

The declaration of the Ein Gedi nature reserve happened in 1971. It’s one of the most important reserves in Israel. It’s situated on the eastern border of the Judean Desert, and on the Dead Sea coast. It’s easy to combine with a visit to the Dead Sea, although it does depend where you go. The area near Ein Gedi is littered with sink holes, so we actually visited the Dead Sea farther away.

As you would expect, the reserve is a sanctuary for all sorts of plants, birds and animals. In terms of mammals, you can apparently find the Nubian ibex here, which I didn’t. I did, however, spot one rock hyrax. One that really wanted to be spotted as it crossed the foot path. Is it just me or is it striking that both these mammals common to the area have the letter x in them?

Fun fact: this animal is the closest relative to an elephant.

The hike to David’s Waterfall is a little bit tricky, but it should be accessible to most people. Please note, if you’re afraid of heights you might have to take special care. My mum was scared at times, but she managed to continue the hike until the end.

It’s a reserve, so there is an entrance with an entrance fee. At the entrance you can find a little supermarket and an ice cream stall to cool down at the end of the hike.

Once you paid the entrance fee it’s time to go chasing all the different waterfalls inside the reserve.

I once visited a “Botanic Garden” in South Africa called Harold Porter which reminds me a lot of this place. Luckily, this time around I didn’t have to watch out for predators. It’s also a bit busier at Ein Gedi. However, if you continue the hike all the way to David’s Waterfall it will quiet down a lot.

David’s Waterfall

There are over nine hiking trails in the Ein Gedi nature reserve. These are ranging in duration from just half an hour in length to a full day.

I decided to visit David’s Waterfall which will take maximum one hour.

This hike starts at the Wadi David ticket office and leads you straightaway into the wadi. A wadi is a dry river stream in the desert, however in this case there is water flowing and the area surrounding the wadi is incredibly lush. This is one of the reasons why I was so enthralled by this location. I didn’t expect it to be so green.

On the way up, you’ll notice “small” waterfalls which are all impressive in their own rights actually. You can swim in these waterfalls if you would like.

Every time we reached a waterfall I thought we reached the end. I had no clue what David’s Waterfall looks like. The hike kept taking us through low tunnels, through very shallow water, over stone stairs and rocks.

After a while my mum was fed up. The twists and turns in the road kept coming and we didn’t know if we had already reached the waterfall or not. Then we reached the twist that led us to this magnificent waterfall and we knew we had reached our destination. David’s Waterfall is nothing like the other smaller falls on the way.

These photos probably don’t do it any justice, but you’ll get what I mean if you ever make your way there.

This was the lower section of the hike. You can now turn back and walk a different route back to the entrance, which is what we did.

You could also hike to the “upper section”, which is an additional three or four hour hike according to the description. This will take you to Shulamit’s Spring, Dodim’s Cave and to Ein Gedi Spring. I have no clue how these locations look, so if you’ve been let me know in the comments below! Apparently, these trails involve a little climbing.

Conclusion

Oman is one of my favourite countries, one I would like to visit a bit more extensively. However, it did lower my expectations when it comes to wadis. I visited Wadi Mayh there, and that wadi is nothing like the one in Ein Gedi. Ein Gedi makes for a perfect day trip from either Jerusalem or Tel Aviv. I liked the time we got from the guided tour, I didn’t really need longer as I’m not really a hiker. If you do like to go on lenghty hikes it’s worth taking a taxi, or bus to stay there a bit longer.

My next post will be all about my time in Jerusalem.

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