HIKING (14 KM) EIN AVDAT NATIONAL PARK & HAWARIM CISTERNS FROM MIDRESHET BEN-GURION, SEDE BOKER (4th DECEMBER, 2009).

Ein Avdat has always a special place for my stay in Israel. It's the first site I visited after arriving Israel in December, 2007. An amazingly serene spot and one of the best natural beauties of Israel, Ein Avdat is today a National Park. Although, located deep inside the Negev desert, it is just 2 km from where I live. From the Sede Boker Campus, an easy 30 minutes hike through the zigzag "serpentine" road takes you to this rare gem of Israel.

What makes the site so special? As you walk through the serpentine to Ein Avdat, first you experience a harsh yet beautiful desert spread through the vast Zin Valley (the largest wadi / riverbed in the Negev). Then and all at a sudden you enter a green patch with birds, animals, waterfalls, pools and springs surrounded by huge cliffs made of soft white chalks. Truly a paradise in the midst of a desert. For the Bible lovers, Zin was the southern border of the land of Canaan that was promised to the Israelites. "Then your south quarter shall be from the wilderness of Zin along by the coast of Edom, and your south border shall be the outmost coast of the salt sea eastward" (Numbers 34:3). Sometimes, when accessibility of a site is very easy, there is a high chance to ignore its importance. Can't give a better explanation for why it took me 2 years to revisit such a site located 2 km from my door steps.

The park can be accessed by two ways. There are two entrances to the park. The lower one is just 2 km from our campus and directly goes to the spring, pools and waterfall of Ein Avdat-the prime attraction of the park. The name Ein Avdat refers to "Spring of Avdat" in Hebrew. The slightly salty spring emerges at the base of the 50 foot waterfall. To this day, no one knows the source of the spring. One theory is that the spring comes from flash flood water that seeps into the ground below. There are two more springs in the park, viz. Ein Ma'arif near the upper entrance and Ein Mor on the way to the lower entrance. But none of them are as beautiful as Ein Avdat.

Near the pool, you can find finely carved rock-cut steps that lead to the top of the waterfall. A few meters further you can see the famous grove of Mesopotamian Poplars. You should not miss the 1500 year old caves on the walls of the cliffs that were used by Christian Byzantine monks. After spending time in the Poplar Grove, you have two options. Descend the same steps and return to Sede Boker via serpentine or you can use the highly steep steps made on the 200 ft tall Zinnim cliffs to the upper entrance. While climbing these steps to the upper entrance, you have a chance to visit one of the Byzantine caves. Views from the upper entrance especially the Mesopotamian Poplar groves, hidden spring of Ein Ma'arif and the Byzantine caves are something you should never miss. The only disadvantage for the later option is that once you reach the upper entrance, you can not climb down the steps and walk back. The guards are very particular about that. In other words there should be a car waiting for you from the upper entrance to bring you back Sede Boker; or else you can walk back 10 km via Highway 40! Since walking via Israeli Highways is not a good idea for your health, we accepted the hard way and hiked back through desert. Altogether, we walked some 14 km and it was indeed worth a trip. May be the photographs are not that convincing, but I would say Ein Avdat is more beautiful than photographs can convey. It is a must stop for any one who visits Israel for nature.