Machteshim trip
One warm spring day, Michal and I went to do some walking in Israel's south - in the Craters area. Called 'Machteshim'
in hebrew, the craters are really beautiful, out of this world. There are three of those in israel - a Big one (Called the
Big Crater), a small one (You guessed it, the Small Crater) and a huge one (called Ramon Crater). This trip we went to see the
Small and the Big. It was a good time to go - it was not too hot, and there were still lot's of flowers around.
We did a four-hour tramp in the Small crater - going down, and then up the cliff. Beautiful. It was a very hazy day, so the visibility
is not that good - hence the pictures are not the best there could have been. But I still think I got some good ones.
Trip outline
Page 1 [Small Machtesh] - Page 2 [Large Machtesh]
The Small Machtesh Katan
We started our trip with the Small crater. I think it's the most beautiful one, because it is so small. The way to the
crater is nice, with a huge train bridge on the way, and nice flowers.
The trail begins with a lookout into the crater, with great views. You can see the trails of a dried river, where all the
vegetation grows...
We started to climb down the cliff. It was a very steep way, but I've had worse.
Once you get to the bottom of the crater, you can walk to a place with a big hill of coloured sand - with amazing colours.
And then comes the part in which you have to go up. It is quite a climb - Look at that trail in the pictures! goes up the cliff. I think the depth of the crater is 400 meters. And it
was hot. And we were a bit hungry, too. But it was not so bad, really, it is a good climb. You can actually avoid the climb if
you have two cars, and you put the other car on the far side of the crater. But I recommend climbing that cliff!
