Nahal Arugot in En Gedi
Most visitors to En Gedi head to Nahal David, but there are also other wonderful hikes in the area. While hiking through Nahal Arugot you will pass by luxuriant vegetation framed between towering cliffs. Walking in the stream in hot weather is also a lot of fun. There is swimming in the upper pools.
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Directions: Enter "Ein Gedi Reserve" into Waze. From Route 90, go past the turning to Nahal David, and continue for a few minutes to the next traffic circle from where you turn off to Nahal Arugot. You can also enter “שמורת טבע × ×—×œ ערוגות.”
Time: 3¾ hours of walking (but leave additional time for swimming and picnicking)
Distance: About 7¼ km
Type of hike: Partially crcular
Difficulty: TMost of the trail is fairly easy, but a few areas are slightly difficult. Bring footwear suitable for walking through shallow water.
Public transport: Enter "Ein Gedi " into Moovit and click on "Ein Gedi National Park.” Buses 486 and 444 leave from the Jerusalem Central Bus Station and stop outside the Nahal David Field School. From here it is about a twenty-five minute walk to Nahal Arugot.
The Hike:
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Follow the red trail overlooking the wadi.
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You will soon come to a blue-marked trail on your left that descends into the wadi. However, this section of the blue trail is fairly short and entails climbing up two sets of metal rungs to get back onto the red trail. So, unless your kids are insistent or you need to cool off because of the hot weather, you can easily give this a miss and continue along the red trail.
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After about 1.25 hours from the beginning of the hike, you again meet the blue-marked trail. Take this trail through the wadi to the Upper Pools. Resign yourself to getting your feet wet unless you are good at balancing on rocks.
The first of the Upper Pools is the largest of the pools, is quite deep, and is quite adequate for swimming. To go up to the other pools there is a path on the right, although you will need to wade through shallow running water.
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To return to the park entrance, go back the way you came on the blue-marked trail, and this leads onto the red trail.
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After some distance you have the option of taking the blue trail to the Hidden Waterfall. This trail descends to the wadi and then parallels the red trail. Some of the time you will be wading through shallow water and this is a lot of fun. This trail eventually joins the red trail to the park entrance.
