Best Natural Waterfalls Nearby Jerusalem Near Me

4worldlovers: A secret oasis in the desert is hard to come by. Where there’s water in a desert in Israel, there’s usually a crowd of people. And Ein Gedi is no exception.

But wander off the beaten track at the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve, and you’ll find hidden marked trails with beautiful waterfalls and crystal pools.

Last year, we explored Nahal Arugot, an easy alternative to the tourist favorite at Ein Gedi, Nahal David. We’ve also climbed Mt. Yishai and journeyed to the Hidden Waterfall in the Dry Canyon (all part of Ein Gedi Nature Reserve).

This past Friday, we discovered yet another trail towards the secret side of Ein Gedi – the path to Ein Gedi Spring and Dodim Cave.

The course up to these less traveled sights was a bit of a challenge in the intense summer heat. But the pools at the end were cool and quiet. Almost magical. It made the trek up completely worth it.

We started the trail at the main entrance to Ein Gedi, along with all the tourists and day trippers. It was early in the morning, but we could already see the place filling up, as it often does during high season.

After showing our parks card and getting a map of the park, we made our way through Nahal David at a faster pace than usual. We weren’t going to stick around and dip in the pools down there. If we had time at the end of our hike, we’d get back to them.

Rather than follow the flow of traffic, we took the path that leads hikers back to the entrance of the park. Along the way, we saw packs of desert ibex (those guys are comically cute every time!) and skipped over a few pools as we walked toward the breakaway path.

When we had almost reached Mapal David (David’s Waterfall), we saw the turnoff to the left and a sign pointing up towards Ein Gedi Spring. We broke left and began the climb.

I’m not sure if we were still a bit shell shocked after our recent travels or just very out of shape from summer relaxation, but I’m not going to lie – the next twenty minutes weren’t easy. We climbed at a slow and steady pace in the 90 degree heat. Sweat pooled under our backpacks. And the climb seemed much harder than that sort of climb usually does.

We took a few stops along the way for cold drinks of water. The weather was kind of hazy, but the views out to the desert mountains and the Dead Sea beyond were still totally incredible.

We passed by the first hint of water to come – Shulamit’s Spring. This shallow pool wasn’t particularly exciting, but it was a good place to stop in the shade and catch our breath.

We debated where to go first – Ein Gedi Spring and the Chalcolithic temple ruins to the left or Dodim Cave to the right? In the end, our hunger got the best of us. We broke left towards Ein Gedi spring where the National Park Authority officially allows food and drink.

Within a few minutes of following signs, we had arrived – at a green area with a shallow pool of water and streams all around. Rather than jump right in, we stretched out under a tree for a long iced coffee break.

Twenty minutes later, refreshed and re-energized, we went to check out Ein Gedi Spring itself. It was really beautiful – a single clean pool of water in the midst of unbelievable desert scenery. We dipped our feet but decided that we would continue on towards Dodim Cave which we had heard was even more spectacular.

Following the circular path, we made our way towards Chalcolithic temple ruins. Supposedly, the ruins date back 5000 years. The people of that time positioned their temple in this incredible spot, overlooking the Dead Sea, where they could use water from Ein Gedi spring for religious ceremonies.


The view from the spot was, indeed, incredible. We climbed up onto a jagged cliff for a better view.


On we continued, back towards the crossroads, where we now took the path to Dodim Cave. The trail wound through the desert for about ten minutes, reaching a series of waterfall pools surrounded by chalky white rock.

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