Dead Sea
As the lowest point on Earth, more than 400 meters below sea level, the Dead Sea is a true miracle of nature. The Dead Sea waters have the highest salt content of any natural body of water, making it impossible for bathers to drown as they float uncontrollably. The Dead Sea is surrounded by the Judean Desert mountains and is easily accessible from Jerusalem or Tel Aviv. Masada and Ein Gedi are on it's shores.
The Dead Sea region has approximately 330 sunny days each year. This incredible weather, along with the healing, natural minerals found in the Dead Sea salt water and mud, brings locals and tourists from around the world to explore this unique natural wonder. Along with photos taken of bathers reading the newspaper while floating, photo opportunities of Dead Sea visitors covered from head to toe in the therapeutic, mineral mud bath is also a popular "must-do".
Alongside the Dead Sea waters, visitors will find an array of shops, restaurants in the Ein Bokek and Neve Zohar districts. Both are filled with hotels offering fully-equipped spas offering therapeutic and cosmetic treatments using the local minerals and arid, warm weather.
The Dead Sea is also a popular destination for travellers interested in active, outdoor vacationing.
The Dead Sea hosts a variety of bicycle tours and races, as well as marathons. The nearby desert provides a variety of outdoor activity including mountain rappelling, jeep tours, eco-tourism, Bedouin hospitality and more. The annual Hatamar Festival held at the Dead Sea boasts music, artist fairs and moonlight hikes through nearby nature sites and in recent years the Dead Sea region
The history of the Dead Sea dates back to Biblical times. Sodom and Gomorra are said to have been located along its sandy shores, and the salty waters were created when Lot’s wife was turned into a pillar of salt for disregarding the angels and looking back at the destruction behind her. One of the rocks on Mount Sodom ridge is called “Lot’s Wife” for this story. Later, King David supposedly fled to the Ein Gedi Oasis for refuge from his angry former-friend and opponent, King Saul. He wrote about the Dead Sea in his Psalms.
Masada is the nearby excavated remains a Roman fortress turned Jewish refuge from Roman enslavement. Qumran, home of the Dead Sea Scrolls, an ancient settlement and excavated caves, is also a short distance from the Dead Sea and closely tied to its history.