{"id":4551,"date":"2022-12-06T12:15:56","date_gmt":"2022-12-06T10:15:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/negevtrails.com\/?post_type=jeep-trip&#038;p=4551"},"modified":"2025-12-11T08:36:44","modified_gmt":"2025-12-11T06:36:44","slug":"jeep-tour-ramon-crater-4-hours","status":"publish","type":"jeep-trip","link":"https:\/\/negevtrails.com\/en\/jeep-trip\/jeep-tour-ramon-crater-4-hours\/","title":{"rendered":"Jeep Tour \u2013 Ramon Crater (4 Hours)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Meeting Point:<\/strong> The parking lot of the &#8220;Even Derech&#8221; commercial center at the main entrance to Mitzpe Ramon. Here, we\u2019ll leave our vehicles and board the jeep to begin the drive south into Ramon Crater.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\">At the newly renovated <strong>Barak and Amichai Itkis Lookout<\/strong>, we\u2019ll stop for our first view over the crater (depending on group size and site availability), and meet the impressive <strong>Nubian ibex<\/strong>, dozens of which live year-round in Mitzpe Ramon. We&#8217;ll gaze south toward <strong>Mount Arif<\/strong> and east toward <strong>Mount Ardon<\/strong>, taking in the magical desert landscape.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\">After the lookout, we\u2019ll descend into <strong>Makhtesh Ramon<\/strong> via Route 40. About 10 minutes later, we\u2019ll reach the crossing point where <strong>Nahal Ramon<\/strong> intersects the highway. We\u2019ll descend into the streambed for a fun explanation about crater formation, observe the colorful rock layers, and continue driving through Nahal Ramon toward the <strong>gypsum quarry area<\/strong>, home to a striking desert khan.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\">The tour continues into the renovated <strong>Ramon Colors National Park<\/strong>, where we\u2019ll enjoy the vivid hues of the ancient desert in the heart of the crater. From there, we\u2019ll head to a <strong>hidden lake<\/strong> in an old quarry, perfect for wading and relaxing (about a 30-minute stop).<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\">Next, we\u2019ll continue east toward <strong>Be\u2019erot Campground<\/strong>, operated by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, then head back off-road into <strong>Nahal Ardon<\/strong>, known for its dramatic <strong>ancient magmatic dikes<\/strong>, whose unique geological story will be revealed. We\u2019ll enjoy about 30 minutes of scenic driving through Nahal Ardon before reaching <strong>Nahal Nekarot<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\">After a short 10-minute drive, we\u2019ll arrive at the stunning <strong>Nekarot Horseshoe<\/strong>. Here, we\u2019ll take a short 10-minute walk to a beautiful seating spot for a <strong>coffee and cookie break in the desert<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\">Our final stop is the ancient <strong>Nabataean site of Metsad Saharonim<\/strong>, built alongside the modest desert spring <strong>Ein Saharonim<\/strong>. After a guided tour of the ancient khan and fortress, we\u2019ll continue through <strong>Nahal Nekarot<\/strong> and begin a moderately technical ascent. From there, we\u2019ll connect to <strong>Nahal Gevanim<\/strong>, which will lead us back to Route 40 and return to Mitzpe Ramon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1068,"template":"","duration":[],"time":[],"season":[],"level":[],"location":[],"class_list":["post-4551","jeep-trip","type-jeep-trip","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/negevtrails.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/jeep-trip\/4551","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/negevtrails.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/jeep-trip"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/negevtrails.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/jeep-trip"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/negevtrails.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1068"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/negevtrails.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4551"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"duration","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/negevtrails.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/duration?post=4551"},{"taxonomy":"time","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/negevtrails.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/time?post=4551"},{"taxonomy":"season","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/negevtrails.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/season?post=4551"},{"taxonomy":"level","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/negevtrails.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/level?post=4551"},{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/negevtrails.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/location?post=4551"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}