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.netFrom Ma'ale Adumim through the Judean Desert to the southern Dead Sea. Drop from Jerusalem's height to the lowest point on earth.
152 km from Ma'ale Adumim to Neve Zohar. You ride the cliff plateau above the Dead Sea, crossing the heads of the wadis one after another: Metzoke Dragot, above Ein Gedi, Ma'ale Namer and the Tze'elim waterfall, and finally drop to the Dead Sea shore. A true desert route, with almost no services on the way.
There is no fuel along the whole route, and the only resupply point is Kfar HaNokdim at km 101. The first 100 km have no marked water at all, so carry all your water or arrange a water drop in advance.
The route crosses 12 firing zones, about 76 km of 152. 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Boundaries from OpenStreetMap (source: IDF) and may be out of date.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 leave Ma'ale Adumim straight into the desert. After a short climb to the route's highest point, about 400 m, you drop into Nahal Kidron and follow it for about ten kilometres. Then on east, past Nahal Samar and Nahal Tur, to Metzoke Dragot, almost at sea level.
South across the plateau above the Dead Sea, one wadi after another: Darga, Tekoa, Hatzatzon, Sdakim, Kedem, Hemlet and Yishai. Each gully is a drop and a climb, between just below sea level and about 280 m. On the way you pass near the Muraba'at caves, and at the end near the Ein Gedi desert kite, an ancient hunting trap.
High above Ein Gedi, you cross the heads of the desert's big wadis: Nahal David, Nahal Arugot, Nahal Hever and Nahal Holed. The route climbs gradually, to about 360 m.
Past Nahal Mishmar and Mount Namer to the top of Ma'ale Namer, with a view over Nahal Tze'elim and the Dead Sea. From there down to Mezad Tzfira and Nahal Tze'elim, near the lookout over the Tze'elim waterfall and the Tzfira pool.
Kfar HaNokdim is the route's only resupply point, with water, food and a store. From there you climb Mount Kanaim, pass near the Kanaim cave, and drop almost 400 m along Nahal Kanaim to the western side of Masada.
South along the foot of the cliffs, past Nahal Rahaf, Nahal Levona, Nahal Mor and Nahal Kinamon, with a short dip to about 100 m below sea level. At the top of Ma'ale Yair and the Ein Bokek lookout the view opens onto the Dead Sea and the evaporation ponds.
The finale. From Tzuk Tamrur the route plunges almost 450 m, past Nahal Zohar and Nahal Halamish and above Mezad Zohar, to Neve Zohar on the Dead Sea shore, about 315 m below sea level.
To split it over two days, the Birkat Tzfira campsite (km 98) is right on the route, with Kfar HaNokdim waiting 3 km on in the morning. Over three days, add the Darga campsite (km 38).
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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