The shore of the Dead Sea sits around 430 meters below sea level, the lowest place on land anywhere on Earth. The water is roughly ten times saltier than the ocean, so dense that you do not swim so much as sit on it. Lean back, lift your feet, and read the newspaper - the cliche photo is the whole point.
A few rules keep it fun: do not shave the day before, never put your head under, keep the water out of your eyes, and do not stay in more than 15-20 minutes. Rinse under the fresh water showers afterwards. Cover yourself in the black mud if you want - locals swear by it for the skin.
The sea is shrinking by about a meter a year because the Jordan River's water is used upstream, and sinkholes have opened along parts of the shore. That is why beaches move and why we pick the swimming spot on the day. Ein Bokek in the south has the hotels and the easiest public beaches.
The area around it is just as impressive. Masada, Herod's cliff-top fortress and the site of the Jewish rebels' last stand against Rome, is best climbed or reached by cable car early in the morning. Ein Gedi is a desert oasis with waterfalls and ibex. Qumran, at the northern end, is where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in caves from 1947 onward.
Our Masada & Dead Sea private tour combines all of this in one day from Jerusalem or Tel Aviv.
Keep reading
- Holy LandThe Holy Land: A Pilgrim's MapGalilee, Jerusalem and the desert, arranged the way pilgrims actually travel.
- Holy LandThe Sea of Galilee: Where the Gospels Come to LifeCapernaum, Tabgha, the Mount of Beatitudes, the 2,000 year old boat and a St. Peter's fish lunch.
- JerusalemHoly JerusalemThe four quarters of the Old City, the holy sites, and the modern city that surrounds them.