This place is half way between Jerusalem and Ein Gedi, well within the Westbank on road 90, near the Israeli settlement of Avnat. The occasional NATO-type barb wire and army presence speak to the political nature of the place, which you may bare in mind. Avnat can be reached by bus easily, which is a big plus if you don’t have a car.
The organization of the activity is very thoughtful: beforehand there is a great (fast and flawless) communication, when you arrive on site they show a video with the route, you are sent a GPS track to your cell phone as well as specific GPS points. Then you receive a bike, helmet and a device to tie the cell phone to the bike, so that you can use it to navigate. And off you go.
For us the highlights were riding the bike between the palm trees, and the stop nearby the shore to look for sea salt diamonds. It’s impressive to see how pressure shapes the salt into perfectly shaped dices, but also to look at the different layers of the sand: due to the sinking water level of the Dead Sea, we now have access to sand layers that have been buried for millions of years. We see them within the process of becoming a rock. You basically can see geology happening. Mind-blowing.
There is no time pressure at all, and the tour is rounded up with a free popsicle.
The price is very fair and the experience well worth the money.
