This past weekend I had the pleasure of travelling to Israel. The trip was very spontaneous, as I happened to have 5 days free in my schedule and found tickets from Vienna, Austria to Eilat, Israel for 16 euros. Yes, you read that correctly, 16 euros to travel from Europe to the Middle East. I quickly booked the tickets in fear that they would soon rise (This was two weeks before the trips). Crazy enough, I was browsing wizz air flights to Israel 5 days before the flight, and found tickets for as low as 10 euros. See picture below if you have your doubts:
I will be honest; I was not very familiar with Eilat before I booked the flight. Through a little research I quickly found that Eilat, Israel was near two famous geological sites: The Red Canyon and Timna Park. After seeing pictures of these places I knew that I had to visit both of them in the two days I was there.
I accomplished my goal of visiting both the Red Canyon and Timna Park, and I absolutely recommend you check out these sites if you find yourself in Eilat. Even better, both of these parks are accessible by public transportation and only costs ~8 euros round trip.
Timna Park
How to get to Timna Park from Eilat:
The route from Eilat to timna park with transportation is very simple. You can take the following busses (390, 391, 444, 991) from the Eilat main bus station to Elifaz/Timna Park station. The ride takes around 20 minutes and costs 14 shekels (4 euros) one way. You can buy the ticket on the bus. One of these busses is usually leaving the station every 30 minutes or so. It is about a 25 minute walk to the visitor center. It costs 49 shekels to enter the park. However, they rarely stop you and it is easy to walk into the park for free. If they do stop you, just ask where to buy a ticket. There is also a free entrance to Timna park via the Timna junction bus stop. If you get dropped off there, just put the Timna Oasis Lake into your google maps and follow the walking directions. It is about a 45-50 minute walk.
Timna National Park Map:
Main Sites in Timna Park:
We walked the main road of the park and walked towards Timna Lake Oasis. Timna park is not very crowded except for the few tour busses. As long as there is not a tour bus stopped at the site, you will most likely have it all to yourself. This walk took around 3 hours and included the following sites: Spiral Hill, Valley View Point, The Mushroom, The Crocodile, Solomon’s Pillars, and Timna Lake, and Hidden Lake Timna. Look below for pictures and descriptions of each of the sites.
Spiral Hill
Spiral Hill is the first stop on the trail. You can climb up and get a great view of the rest of the park.
Valley View Point
As the name emplies, Valley view point features an incredible view of Timna valley. Be careful climbing up to this point as some of the rocks are loose.
Timna Park Mushroom
The Timna Park Mushroom is probably the most famous attraction in the park.
The Crocodile
This was one of the less exciting attractions. These rock formations are supposed to resemble a Crocodile, but I couldn’t see it.
Soloman’s Pillars
These rock formations are named after the infamous King Solomon who lived during the 900 B.C. Many people believe that this location was the site of the first humans to utilize copper mines.
Timna Lake
The Timna Lake Oasis offers a rest stop that features a restaurant and a gift shop. Occasionally there is live music.
Hidden Lake Timna
As the name implies, The Hidden Lake Timna is a little off the beaten path. It is located roughly 30 minutes walking from the Timna Lake. If you plan on going here, search for the hidden lake on google maps.
Red Canyon Eilat
Red Canyon is also a must-do if you are visiting Eilat. Like Timna, Red Canyon is very accessible by public transportation.
How to get to Red Canyon from Eilat:
Bus 392 Eilat to Red Canyon
Bus 392 takes you from the Eilat main bus station to The Red Canyon bus stop in 25 minutes. There is usually a bus every two hours, but you should look at the bus schedule online to confirm. The cost of the bus is 12.5 Shekels (around 3.5 euros). Make sure to tell the bus driver you are getting off at the Red Canyon Stop.
The Red Canyon Hike is absolutely incredible and not crowded at all. The red canyon hike takes a total of 2 hours and there is no entrance fee. There are some points in the canyon that look very similar to Antelope Canyon in Arizona. I hope you enjoy the pictures below 😊
We got a little impatient waiting for the bus on the way back. We got a ride after waiting for 20 minutes. Hitchhiking in Israel is fairly common and considered safe.
Love hiking and love your detailed post! You are right to say that the Red Canyon looks very similar to Antelope Canyon – we’ve been to the latter and it looks A-mazing! We’ve never been to Israel yet, but the country is for sure on our list! If you are ever visiting British Columbia, Canada – you can get detailed local hiking guides on my blog – some of the sites are absolutely amazing 🙂 Cheers!
It looks like similar to New Mexico. We never been to Middle East yet! This will be helpful for us who never been to the country. Great post and very informative.
What, 16 euro, what a steal! I don’t know too much about this destination but the hiking looks amazing. It reminds me of Nevada’s Mojave Desert. The views, that landscape, the rock formations- it looks like a fantastic place for a quick getaway.
Oooh do those metal bars in the red canyon mean it’s okay to climb up the canyon walls and explore more? That is sooo cool! I imagine those canyons would be even more spectacular in the middle of the day when the light shines down into them, but i guess that would be crazily hot!
I love all the rick formations inTimna Park, especially the mushroom and the spiral. I can kiiiind of see the crocodile. I mean, the bumps on top look like a crocodiles back. Ish.