Wadi Arugot – Ein Gedi Nature Reserve – Visitors Guide

Wadi Arugot, by the Dead Sea, is part of the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve. It offers various water hikes through waterfalls and pools.

Map

Ein Gedi Nature Reserve is near the Dead Sea and Kibbutz Ein Gedi. The entrance to Wadi Arugot is several km from the main entrance. You can use the navigation links below.

Directions for drivers: Link to Waze and Link to Google Maps
Directions for public transport: Link to Moovit

Interactive map of the area:

And here is the hiking map of this nature reserve.

Note: you can click on the trail map to enlarge it.

Trails

As you can see from the trail map above, there are several parking lots and many starting/ending points. You can combine the trails in at least a dozen different ways.

The brochure that you receive at the entrance suggests nine different trails. And I will list the most popular and our favorites.

#	Entrance	Trail	Level	Start Hike no later than	Hiking Time (hours)	Distance (km)	Total climb and descent (meters)
1	Synagogue Parking	The Ancient Synagogue	Easy	15:30	0.5	0.2	0
2	Main Entrance	Wadi David and David Fall	Easy	15:00	1	1.6	160
3	Main Entrance	David Fall, Shulamit Spring, Dodim Cave, and Ein Gedi Spring	Medium	13:30	3 – 4	3.6	416
4	Wadi Arugot Entrance	The Hidden Fall	Medium	14:00	2 – 3	4.4	258
5	Wadi Arugot Entrance	The Hidden Falls and the Upper Pools	Hard	12:00	4 – 5	6.85	350
6	Main Entrance	David Fall, Shulamit Spring, Chalcolithic Temple, Ein Gedi Spring, Tel Goren, and the Ancient Synagogue	Medium	13:00	On average, it takes us 3.5 hours (at a moderate pace)	4.4	420
7	Wadi Arugot Entrance	The lower pools	Easy	14:00	1 – 2 (depending on the stops at the pools)	1.7	50

Notes:

• The latest start hike time is according to the winter clock. You can add one hour during the summer.
• Trail #2 is by far the most popular one. Schools and many tour guides usually choose it. Thus, if this is your first time, use it or incorporate it (like trail #3 or #6).
• #4 and #5 are also known as the short and long Wadi Arugot hikes.
• #6 and #7 are examples of hikes we did on our recent visits.

Opening Hours

Sunday – Thursday and Saturday: 8:00 – 17:00 (16:00 in winter).
Friday: 8:00 – 16:00 (15:00 in winter).
On holiday eves, usually 8:00 – 13:00.

Note: Since the pandemic, the Israel Nature and Parks Authority has started limiting the number of people in each park. Thus, reservations are recommended through the official site (you can find the link below).

You can enter Wadi Arugot only before 14:00.

Entrance Fee

Adult – 28 NIS, child – 14 NIS, and student – 24 NIS. Free for National Parks annual subscribers.

If you visit several National Parks, consider purchasing a combo ticket. For additional information, see National Parks and Nature Reserves.

If you visit only the ancient synagogue, the entrance fee will be 14 NIS per adult, 7 NIS per child, and 12 NIS per student.

Note: Opening hours and ticket prices were updated in April 2024. In any case, recheck the official site before visiting. You can also make reservations at the official site.

Note: for additional information about other parts of this Nature Reserve, see Ein Gedi Nature Reserve.

Parking

There is free dirt parking by the entrance to Wadi Arugot. It is located several kilometers southwest of the parking lot by the main entrance. And since the parking is on elevated grounds, you can see the Dead Sea from it.

Rules of Conduct

Here are several rules from the signs on site:

• Flooding is a danger in winter, spring, and fall. Check weather reports before visiting.
• Feeding wildlife is prohibited. Also, don’t approach newborn animals.
• Dogs are not allowed in the reserve.
• Lighting of fires, including smoking, is prohibited throughout the reserve.
• The use of quadcopters is prohibited.

What to bring for the hikes?

• Water – Take water depending on the trail you select. The only place you can fill your water bottles is by the entrance. The general recommendation is 5 liters of water per person per day.
• Wear comfortable walking shoes and a hat. And since there are sections with water, take water shoes.
• Some of the pools are deep (more than 2 meters). Thus, if you are going beyond the lower pools, which are about knee-deep, taking waterproof bags is always a good idea.

Short Water Hike at Wadi Arugot

The trails in this nature reserve are suitable for fit hikers only. There are two main hikes: the short and the long (#4 and #5 in the trails table above). But when we arrived with my youngest daughter (four years old at the time of the visit), the guide suggested we do an even shorter version. This hike consisted of the red trail, then the blue trail through the lower pools, and returning the same way. I added it to the hike table as #7.

The first section of the red trail took about ten minutes. Here are several photos:

We turned left (to the blue trail) at the junction of the red and blue trails. Here are several photos from the lower pools:

Going through the lower pools (at a slow pace) took us about half an hour. The described short trail took two hours (including many stops).

Summary

Wadi Arugot is a lovely place. There are trails of different difficulty levels, and even small kids can enjoy the lower pools. Thus, consider visiting Ein Gedi Nature Reserve and Wadi Arugot if you are in the Dead Sea area.

Have you ever been to Wadi Arugot? Tell us about your experience in the comments below.

That’s all for today, and I’ll see you in future travels!

Stay Tuned!

Additional Resources

Here are several resources that I created to help travelers:

• Trip Planner with Attractions and Itineraries is the page that will help you create your perfect travel route.
• What is the Best Time to visit Israel? To answer this question, we will consider the weather, prices, holidays, festivals, and more.
• Information and Tips for Tourists to Israel will answer the most common questions tourists have about Israel (including safety, passports, weather, currency, tipping, electricity, and much more).
• Israel National Parks and Nature Reserves include a complete list, top ten, map, tickets (Israel Pass, Matmon, combo), and campsites.
• If you are looking for things to do, here are the pages for Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Sea Of Galilee, Akko (Acre), Eilat, Nazareth, Safed (Tzfat), and Makhtesh Ramon.