Fodor's Expert Review Arava Road
Traversing the Arava Valley from Ein Bokek to Eilat, the 177-km (111-mile) Route 90 parallels the Israel--Jordan border, almost touching it at some points. To the east rise the spiky, red-brown mountains of Moab, in Jordan. The road follows an ancient route mentioned in biblical descriptions of the journeys of the Children of Israel.
The Arava (meaning "wilderness") is part of the Great Rift Valley, the deep fissure in the earth stretching from Turkey to East Africa, the result of an ancient shift of landmasses. Just south of Ein Bokek, you pass signs for the communities Neot HaKikar and Ein Tamar (home to many metalwork and jewelry artists), whose date palms draw water from underground springs rather than irrigation. With the Edom Mountains rising in the east, the road continues along the southern Dead Sea valley, where you cross one of the largest dry riverbeds in the Negev, Nahal Zin, and pass several sprawling date orchards that belong to neighboring kibbutzim.
