Exploring Masada & Ein Gedi

We kick off our first day in Jerusalem with a day-long tour to Masada, Ein Gedi, and the Dead Sea with Abraham Tours.

I heard about this tour company from other travelers, as Abraham hostel is a popular spot in Jerusalem and their tours are well-reputed. Plus this specific tour does everything we want — these three stops are on our must-see list, so we’re glad to check them off with one tour. NOTE: this tour does not include the entrance fees at Masada or Ein Gedi, but price of admission to the Dead Sea resort area is included.

Certain days they offer this tour at sunrise (with a 4am departure… yikes) and my friend Melanie did it a few weeks earlier and said it was totally worth the early wake-up call. Her photos attest to this. But today they only offer the 7am departure, so we get to sleep in a bit before meeting our tour guide and driver Alon just outside the Jaffa Gate.

This tour is partially self-guided, meaning that Alon drops us off at Masada, Ein Gedi, and the Dead Sea for us to explore on our own, but he earns the title of tour guide for providing such detailed commentary the whole way. He also has a fascinating personal history which he freely shares with us: after decades of actively participating in the Jewish faith, he decided to leave the community a few years ago. It was a complex decision as it meant separating from his wife and not getting to see his children as often. Alon spoke about feeling like an outsider, as his identity was always intertwined with his faith, and now he doesn’t belong to a particular group. He is happy and free-spirited and very kind, plus highly knowledgable about the culture and history of the sites we visit.

We begin with a quick stop at a sign designating Sea Level — it’s all downhill from here… literally. And there’s a camel photo op. Since I rode one last week, I skip it, but my sister eagerly hops on for a quick spin.

Next stop, Masada.

It’s an elaborate fortress that Herod the Great built for himself atop this mountain shortly before the birth of Christ. About a century later the Siege of Masada occurred, as troops of the Roman Empire invaded and 960 Sicarri rebels and their families hiding there set everything on fire and then committed mass suicide. Only two women and five children were found alive.

Today Masade is one of Israel’s top tourist attractions. Two cable cars carry visitors to the top for a fee, or you can hike about 45 minutes uphill. We have two hours to explore so we opt to take the cable car both ways to give us more time up there.

As the cable car glides uphill, we get a better view of the Dead Sea.

We’re REALLY high up.

We climb to the lookout and find a group of high school age children relaxing… or hiding from their teachers?

Here’s an idea of what Masada looked like in its hey day:

These stairs snake down to the temple below.

We’re greeted by more students sitting down and listening to music.

There’s a little booth where this man works on an important-looking text:

There’s a store at the base of Masada that sells beauty products made with Dead Sea salt, said to be especially healing. Ahava is a popular brand and we see it throughout our time in Israel.

Our next stop is Ein Gedi nature reserve, a desert oasis with numerous waterfalls, palm trees, and animals.

We grab sandwiches at the on-site cafe. They’re so-so, but the iced coffee slushy is so good that I drink TWO. This tip jar at the counter makes me smile: