Judaean Desert Tours

Duration: 2/4 hours​

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The desert provides us a fascinating and rare view of our ancestor's way of life. We will enter off-road territory inhabited mainly by Bedouin tribes, where we will see their tents and animals.

We will see ancient water cisterns, so important for desert inhabitants hundreds and thousands of years ago and still in use today and understand how shepherds water their animals.​

A challenging ride will take us up to Mount Azazel, the sacred hilltop where, in the ancient Jewish tradition, every year on Yom Kippur a scapegoat carrying the sins of the people was cast off a cliff.

A longer option is to continue to the most beautiful lookout on the Mar Saba monastery, almost a secret for travelers in Israel because of the relative difficulty in arriving at the site. The huge monastery, founded over 1,500 years ago, is one of the oldest inhabited monasteries in the world. The awe-inspiring structure is inhabited by around twelve Greek Orthodox monks, who also meditate in the surrounding rock caves.

An optional visit to Nebi Musah (Moses's tomb by the Muslim tradition) can complete the tour with a touch of each of the three monotheistic religions.