Dead Sea
Israel · Southern District · -430 m
Description
The Dead Sea (ים המלח) shore is the lowest dry land on Earth at around four hundred and thirty metres below sea level, and the water is roughly ten times as salty as the ocean, which is why nothing lives in it and why you float without effort. The hotel strip at Ein Bokek has free public beaches and spas built around the black mineral mud. The lake is shrinking by about a metre a year because the Jordan is diverted upstream, and the retreating shoreline has left thousands of sinkholes that have closed several older beaches for good.
Length of stay
Recommended length of stay: 1 to 3 days (optimal 2 days)
Travel season
Best time to visit: November – March
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
Highlights
- Floating in the salt water at Ein Bokek
- Black mineral mud treatments
- Ein Gedi nature reserve and its waterfalls
- Lowest point on Earth marker
- Spa hotels of the Ein Bokek strip
- Qumran caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found
- Salt crystal formations along the shore
- Ibex and hyrax at the Ein Gedi springs
- Nahal David and Nahal Arugot canyon walks
- Ein Gedi botanical garden kibbutz
- Judean desert sunrise over the Jordanian hills