Southern
Get your travel authorisation- Code:D
- Type:district
- Native name:Southern District
- Population:1.3M (2017)
- Area:14,185 km²
- Capital:Beersheba
Introduction
Southern District covers well over half of Israel's land area but a fraction of its population — the Negev Desert, the desert fortress of Masada, and Eilat's Red Sea coral reefs at the country's southernmost tip.
Overview
The Negev makes up the great majority of Southern District — a genuine desert landscape of craters, canyons and ancient spice routes rather than empty sand, best represented by Makhtesh Ramon, the world's largest erosion crater, a 40-kilometre natural amphitheatre carved from multicoloured rock rather than caused by any impact. Masada, on the district's eastern edge above the Dead Sea, is a mesa-top fortress where the physical setting and the historical episode reinforce each other — the climb (or cable car) rewards visitors with both a striking desert-and-sea view and the remains of Herod's palace complex. At the district's southern tip, Eilat sits on the Red Sea's Gulf of Aqaba, where coral reefs begin close to shore in consistently warm water, making it Israel's dedicated winter-sun and diving destination. Between these points, the Negev's Bedouin heritage, ancient Nabataean spice-route towns and vast open desert make this the district for travellers who want Israel's landscape rather than its cities.
Discover Southern
Makhtesh Ramon and the Negev
Makhtesh Ramon is the largest of Israel's makhteshim (erosion craters, a landform found almost nowhere else on Earth) — a 40-kilometre-long, 500-metre-deep natural amphitheatre formed by water erosion exposing multicoloured rock strata over millions of years, not a meteor impact despite the crater-like appearance. The rim town of Mitzpe Ramon sits directly on the edge, and hiking trails descend into the crater floor itself, past unusual eroded rock formations including the Carpentry Shop (natural pentagonal rock columns) and Ammonite Wall (a cliff face embedded with fossilised ammonites). The surrounding Negev holds Bedouin communities, ancient Nabataean spice-route way-stations, and some of the darkest night skies in Israel, with Mitzpe Ramon designated an official International Dark Sky Community.
Masada
Masada rises as an isolated flat-topped mesa above the western shore of the Dead Sea, its summit reached by cable car or by the Snake Path (a switchback trail best walked at dawn before the desert heat sets in). Herod the Great built an elaborate palace-fortress complex here in the 1st century BCE, and the surviving structures — a three-tiered northern palace built into the cliff face, a Roman-style bathhouse, and storerooms — are exceptionally well preserved for their age given the site's remote, dry desert setting. Sunrise from the summit, looking east over the Dead Sea to the Jordanian mountains beyond, is the standard reason visitors climb before dawn rather than arriving by cable car later in the day.
Eilat — Red Sea Diving
Eilat sits at Israel's southernmost point on the Gulf of Aqaba, an arm of the Red Sea, where coral reefs begin close enough to shore for shore diving and snorkelling without a boat. The Coral Beach Nature Reserve protects the most accessible reef section, with clearly marked snorkelling trails and warm water year-round that makes Eilat Israel's default winter-sun destination when the rest of the country turns cold and wet. Beyond diving, the city functions as a straightforward beach resort — hotels along the shore, a marina, and a dolphin reef where wild dolphins are regularly seen close to shore. Eilat is also a genuinely useful base for reaching Jordan and Egypt border crossings, both close by.
Ways to Experience This Destination
The world's largest erosion crater — 40 km of multicoloured rock, hiking trails to the crater floor, and Mitzpe Ramon's official Dark Sky status for stargazing.
Herod's mesa-top desert fortress above the Dead Sea — Snake Path or cable car, best at sunrise, with exceptionally preserved 1st-century BCE palace remains.
Shore-accessible coral reefs on the Gulf of Aqaba, warm water year-round, and Israel's default winter-sun beach destination at the country's southern tip.
Southern District Travel Information
- Masada is best climbed at dawn before the heat sets in — the Snake Path takes 45-60 minutes uphill; the cable car is the faster, cooler alternative for the return or the whole ascent.
- Distances in the Negev are large — a hired car is the practical way to combine Makhtesh Ramon, Masada and Eilat, since public transport connections between them are limited.
- Eilat's coral reefs are shore-accessible at the Coral Beach Nature Reserve — no boat needed for a genuine Red Sea snorkelling experience.
Frequently asked questions
Is Makhtesh Ramon worth visiting?
How early should I climb Masada?
Is Eilat good for diving even for beginners?
Do I need a car to see the south of Israel?
This overview comes from Visaja's worldwide missions database (visaja.com), checked against official government sources; for binding answers, the mission itself always has the final word.