Makhtesh Ramon

A makhtesh is not a meteorite crater or a volcanic caldera but an erosion cirque: a hard rock layer breached by a valley, allowing the softer rock beneath to be washed out and leaving a steep-walled basin with a single drainage exit. The landform is essentially confined to the Negev and Sinai, and Makhtesh Ramon is the largest, roughly forty kilometres long and hundreds of metres deep. The town of Mitzpe Ramon sits right on the rim, so the view arrives without any walking at all, and Nubian ibex wander the streets. Inside, the floor holds coloured sands, a fossilised prismatic rock formation of basalt columns, and old quarry sites, all reached on marked routes. The dark skies here are among the best in the country for stargazing.

History

The makhtesh lies on the ancient Incense Route used by the Nabataeans 2,000 years ago, and the ruins of Khan Saharonim inside it served as a way station; today it forms the country's largest national park, the Ramon Nature Reserve (Wikipedia, Makhtesh Ramon).

Highlights

• The rim promenade at Mitzpe Ramon - the full crater view, free and immediate.
• The Carpentry - a hillside of hexagonal basalt prisms on the crater floor.
• Coloured sands - ochre and red sand layers in the western part of the floor.
• Night skies - some of the darkest accessible skies in the country.

When to go

October to April; summer in the Negev is severe and midday walking on the crater floor is dangerous. Sunrise and sunset from the rim are the classic moments, and winter nights are cold and exceptionally clear.

Things to know

Descending into the makhtesh needs a vehicle and, for the rougher tracks, four-wheel drive; walking routes on the floor are long, exposed and demand serious water. There is very little shade anywhere. Mitzpe Ramon is small, and accommodation books out on Israeli holidays and weekends.

Nearby

Sde Boker and Ben-Gurion's desert home lie north; Eilat and the Red Sea are south.

Key facts