Timna Park

Timna is a horseshoe of desert valley enclosed by cliffs of sandstone in every shade from cream to deep red, and it holds two quite different attractions. The first is geology: wind and rare flash floods have carved the soft rock into mushrooms, arches and the great fluted buttresses known as Solomon's Pillars, and into a slot canyon narrow enough to touch both walls. The second is industry, of a very old kind, since copper was mined here from at least the third millennium BC, with Egyptian expeditions working the valley in the late Bronze Age and leaving a small rock-cut temple to the goddess Hathor along with rock carvings of chariots. Shafts, galleries and slag heaps are scattered across the valley, and marked trails and a driving route link the sites. Being a desert park, it is best in the cool months and early in the day.

What you actually see

• Solomon's Pillars - the great fluted sandstone buttresses with the Hathor temple below.
• The ancient copper mines - shafts, galleries and slag from mining over three thousand years old.
• The Mushroom and the arches - the wind-carved rock formations across the valley.
• The rock carvings - the chariot petroglyphs left by Egyptian expeditions.

When to go

November to March is the comfortable season; from spring to autumn the Arava is extremely hot and walking is only sensible at dawn. The park has a driving route with short walks off it, which suits the heat. Flash floods after rare rain can close the canyons.

Honest expectations

It is a desert with almost no shade, and visitors underestimate both the heat and the water they need; the longer trails are for early mornings in winter only. A car is effectively required, as the sites are spread over a large valley. The reconstructed Tabernacle attraction near the entrance is a faith-based exhibit rather than an archaeological one, which some visitors find jarring.

Nearby

Eilat and the Red Sea coral reefs are half an hour south; the Arava valley runs north towards the Dead Sea.