Negev, Makhtesh Ramon, Sunset, 2012. Photo by Neil Folberg
Makhtesh Ramon is a fantastically beautiful geological site close to Sde Boker. Driving down into the basin of the makhtesh—a deep crater—is a hair-raising but exhilarating trip on a rocky path that makes the rollercoasters at Coney Island seem tame. The makhtesh is twenty-five miles long and six miles wide—there is so much to explore.
“The walls of the Makhtesh are striped with limestone and basalt, red as roses, tall as buildings. Tame Nubian ibexes and gazelles wander fearlessly. ”
The walls of the makhtesh are striped with limestone and basalt, red as roses, tall as buildings. Tame Nubian ibexes and gazelles wander fearlessly. Acacia, boxthorn, and broom grow in abundance, and sturdy caper bushes, with their warm-green leaves as delicate as tiny coins, sneak out of crevices, some of them growing sideways.
It is a landscape unlike any other on Earth.
