Makhtesh Ramon is located in the Negev desert. It’s found in the deep south of Israel about two and a half hours drive from the capital Holy city of Jerusalem. It’s a crater and is recorded to be the largest crater on the planet till now. Perhaps mistranslated but it is actually an erosion sink formed (predicted by archeologists) to be around 220 million years ago. This crater is somewhat twenty-five miles long, six miles wide and its depth is about 1600 feet. This erosion sink was once leveled but believed to be eroded due to certain geological processes.

One weird fact about this crater is that it is shaped like an elongated heart. On hot summer days, the average temperature of this area is roughly 100 degrees Fahrenheit or 40 degrees Celsius but just like other desserts, this also has the feature of dropping down the temperature at night which gets to be around 70 degrees Fahrenheit or roughly 30 on Celsius scale. This crater forms the largest Israeli national park the “Roman Nature Reserve.” It lies along the ancient Incense Route, a trade route used by the Nabataea’s 2,000 years ago. It is full of beautiful stones of different colors such as yellow, red and orange.

How It Was Formed? Makhtesh Ramon revolves around theories regarding its formation and hundreds of suggestions evolving but all of them unanimously agreed that it was formed by the erosion of the soft sandstones and the only evidence to support this idea is the river which still floats at northeast. In a process of millions of years, the river slowly swept the easily dissolvable sandstones, causing a reddish color to it. The stones are so soft that they resemble clay and leave behind reddish colors which are absolutely harmless. __ Mitzpe Ramon__ This is the only habitat in this area and perhaps the Negev desert. This city is located on the edge of a mountain height in the area and is a very popular tourist destination due to its being the only livable place in the region. It was created for workers that were creating the motor road that connects beer Sheva to most of Israel. Later, it became a small city, now quite popular amongst the tourists.

We all know deserts don’t support a good habitat for animals and the fact that there is not much greenery in this area but every kind of place in this globe supports some sort of habitat and in this area the all famous mountains deer’s and goats exclusively Asian wild-ass the “Nubian ibex” wanders around the sharp edges of dangerous peaks and heights in the crater. Completely harmless species, also human-friendly and can help you take some awesome selfies with it.

Things to Do at Makhtesh Ramon If you wish to explore the crater further, you can land right into the Be’erot campground. It is the only campsite in this area. Visitors can sleep under the sky seeing the beautiful stars of midnight. Another important element is the Bedouin hospitality tents. The Bedouin hospitality offers delicious coffee, tea, and pita bread, as well as overnight stays, and the campsite is a wonderful pick if you’re hungry while exploring the crater. Playing with the soft clayish stones is another fun activity in this remote region. Different colors of yellow, red and whitish – and orange kinds of colored stones can be explored within this area which extravagates the deluxe of visiting this crater.

Ok, But How Do I Get There? As I mentioned earlier, this place is not very far from the capital city located just around 221 kilometers which roughly takes about two hours and thirty minutes. Plus the highway number forty is always at low traffic rate so it’s not going to be any problem reaching here. it is not so hard to get a visit visa to Israel but once you land in the capital, it will not be a headache for you to get here so if you ever have the chance to visit Israel, be sure to check it out but if you’re in Israel and looking for some natural landscapes to visit you better not miss this one because it’s worth the visit.