Geographical area: ​

Northern Dead Sea, northern Judean Desert

​

Background:

The Qumran River in the Judean Desert meanders from the desert plateau down to the Dead Sea. The dry river measures a distance of 13km and was named after the nearby Qumran archeological site, where the remains of a settlement from the Second Temple were discovered.
Ancient scrolls found in the caves along the creek rockface are known today as the Dead Sea Scrolls. The discovery of these scrolls is considered one of the most important archaeological finds in Israel, with both historic and religious value. The period they were written in is estimated as the first and second century BC, which classifies these scrolls as the oldest Hebrew document ever to be unearthed in Israel.

​

Type of trip:

Moderate to light difficulty level; circular trail; rappelling required

​

Duration:

Max. 8 hours for full trail (shorter trail possible to either lower river only or upper river only)

​

Trail Outline:

Rendezvous: 7:45am in parking area of Qumran National Park,

which is adjacent to Kibbutz Kalia on Highway 90, north of the

Dead Sea.

We’ll hand out rappelling equipment to each participant and

after paying the entrance fee at the ticket office (free for holders

of Israel National Parks Authority membership card), we’ll start

our trail on a dirt path with green trail markings and we’ll walk

for approximately 40 minutes at a slight incline until we enter

the upper part of the gorge.
After we enter the gorge, we’ll have breakfast and rappelling

instruction.
After breakfast, we’ll rappel into the creek and continue rappelling

along the trail.
The creek is not very long and includes a total of six dry falls that

require rappelling. These dry falls can be classified as follow:
Upper falls: 30m, 9m, 40m in height, respectively
Lower falls: 40m, 5m, 25m in height, respectively
The creek measures a distance of about 2km in total.
In the afternoon, we’ll stop for lunch in the creek.
After we’ve rappelled our way down the creek, we’ll ascend on

a dirt path with trail markings back to where the vehicles await.

​

Personal Equipment: 

4.5 liters of water per person (preferably in insulated Jerri cans), medium backpack (at least 30 liter capacity for personal items, food and rappelling equipment handed out on site), walking shoes (closed shoes only), sandals/flip-flops (leave in the car for after the trail), hat, long hiking pants (not jeans), long-sleeve shirt or T-shirt (no sleeveless shirts), food and snacks, mosquito repellent, sunscreen (don’t forget we’re in the desert), rubber band for long hair, change of clothes (will be left in the car for after the trail), sunglasses

​

Recommended -

Camera, light snacks such as sour/sweet candy, dates, raisins, almonds

Cost per Participant: Determined by size of group + 8 NIS for nature reserve entrance fee (free for holders of Israel National Parks Authority membership card)

​

We provide:

Qualified rappelling instructors, all necessary rappelling equipment, first aid kit, coffee & tea kit

The trip includes insurance, as required by law.

​

Cost per Participant:

Determined by size of group