Recent rain? Check the mud forecast before you go. Download the route’s GPX and upload it to ‘HaSingletor’ – you’ll get the chance of mud from the nearest rain station and the soil type.
Mud forecast Built by Boaz Yoffe · mtb.yoffe.netRoute by Itay HaLevi
A loop in the Negev Highlands that starts in Nahal Zin, climbs to Avdat and the Incense Route and returns by the Tzinim cliff. Streambeds, cliffs and plenty of climbing for the distance.
91 km in a loop through the Negev Highlands, starting and finishing in Nahal Zin by the Nahal Hava campsite. You climb along Nahal Zin and Nahal Akev to Avdat and the Incense Route, up to about 720 m, and return past Mezad Grafon, Ein Um Saleh and the Tzinim cliff. Almost 1,600 m of climbing and a single resupply point: a short desert loop, and not an easy one.
There is water only at Hod Akev (km 17.6) and Avdat (km 32.5), and fuel and food only at Avdat. The last 58 km, from Avdat to the finish, have no water and no services: leave Avdat carrying all your water.
The route crosses 2 firing zones, about 45 km of 91. Entering a firing zone requires advance coordination and approval, and zones can be closed on weekends and holidays too.
Boundaries from OpenStreetMap (source: IDF) and may be out of date. Some sections are a road that crosses the zone. Either way, check and coordinate before you go. All coordination centers →
Install the site as an app and save the route for the field. The map, elevation profile, fuel stations, water taps and campsites stay on your phone and open without internet.
You set off in Nahal Zin, below 200 m, right by the Gishronei Nahal Hava campsite. You ride up Nahal Zin, cross Nahal Tzama and Nahal Talul, and climb gradually to about 300 m. No services or water here.
The Hod Akev campsite, with water and toilets, sits right on the route. From there you follow Nahal Akev to Ein Akev, one of the largest springs in the Negev, and the Parsa waterfall lookout. The route climbs to about 500 m, and a Bedouin café waits at the end of the section.
Avdat has the only resupply on the route: a fuel station, a convenience store and Aroma, with the ancient Nabataean city above them. From there you ride the Incense Route, past a line of milestones, and climb to the route's highest point, about 720 m.
From the high point you drop to Mezad Grafon, a Nabataean watchtower above the Incense Route, and on to Nahal Grafon and Nahal Mahmal. Then the route rolls between 450 and 600 m, crosses Nahal Teref and reaches Ein Um Saleh, a large spring in the middle of the desert. At the end of the section you reach the Tzinim cliff reserve.
The finale. From the top of the Tzinim cliff you plunge more than 300 m along Nahal Hagor and Nahal Marzeva, back to Nahal Zin at about 190 m, and the Nahal Hava campsite where you started.
To split it over two days, Upper Nahal Hava (km 50, 370 m off the route) is almost at the halfway point. If you start late, Hod Akev (km 18) has water and toilets.
Fuel stations, groceries and food within 300 m of the route. Fuel stations usually have water, toilets and a convenience store.
Distances along the route are calculated from the GPX file; the distance of each place from the route is a straight-line distance. Night campsites come from the site's campsite map, other places from OpenStreetMap. Not checked on the ground: confirm before you go.
Firing zones: OpenStreetMap, IDF data import
Distance, climbing and recommended months come from the routes table. Highest and lowest points are calculated from the GPX file, and difficulty is an estimate based on climbing per kilometre.
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