Line © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), checked by Global Adventurer.
The walk
From the car park beside Route 40 on the floor of Makhtesh Ramon (מכתש רמון) walk north on the black-marked path beside the road, then west on the red to the Ammonite Wall, a rock face set with coiled fossils, and come back to the junction. Follow the green marks, shared with the Israel National Trail, north-east across the crater floor to the mouth of Gai Zohalim, turn left on the red up the gully, and keep on the red and then the black to the lookout on Mount Gevanim. Come down the other side on the blue Geological Trail, return down Gai Zohalim, and take the black path south-west back to the car park.
It is 6.6 km round with 166 m of ascent; allow about 2 hours. The grade is Easy: desert paths and tracks, with a short steep pull on loose stones up to the lookout.
An IDF firing zone begins just east of Route 40: stay on the marked trails west of the road. There is no shade or water anywhere, so carry at least 3 litres each, start early and walk in daylight only. Do not walk the gully when rain is forecast, and leave the fossils where they are.
The crater reserve has no gate or fee. Buses between Beersheva, Mitzpe Ramon and Eilat run on Route 40, but none stops at the trailhead.
Route drawn by Global Adventurer along OpenStreetMap paths (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), with figures worked out from it. Check the forecast and the ground on the day: paths change.
Good to know
- Makhtesh Ramon is about 40 km long, up to 10 km wide and some 500 m deep: a crater carved by erosion, not by a volcano or a meteorite
- The Ammonite Wall is a limestone face set with coiled fossil ammonites from the sea that covered the Negev in the Cretaceous, some 90 to 100 million years ago
- Mount Gevanim, 'hues', is named for the coloured sandstones and clays around it; the Geological Trail explains the layers on signs
- Gai Zohalim, the Reptile Gully, is named for fossil bones of marine reptiles found in it
Summits on the way
- Har Gvanim 612 m · passed close by
Getting there
Start: Car park on Route 40 by the Ammonite Wall trail, Makhtesh Ramon. 30.57297, 34.88494
Directions to the start
Google Maps Apple Maps Waze Moovit
Waze drives you to the car park; Moovit has the buses and trains to the start.
Places to stay nearby
Rooms in and around Car park on Route 40 by the Ammonite Wall trail: Booking.com → Expedia → Hotels.com →
Affiliate links: if you book, Global Adventurer earns a small commission at no cost to you.
Paths change, and the weather decides the day. The line and figures come from OpenStreetMap and our own checks; take a map, check the forecast, and turn back if it isn't right.