4AM came sooner than we had hoped but with the buzz of our alarms, we pulled on our hiking gear, filled our waterbottles and drove out to the base of the famed Masada hike for a sunrise climb. After the soul-crushing hikes in Petra, Masada was much more enjoyable - cooler in the darkness, and not quite as pitched. I made it to the top at a relaxing 45 minute clip, while my friends powered ahead and did it in 30. Along the way I stopped to take photos of the pre-dawn glow which was as pretty as the sunrise itself.

The story of Masada is a dark, yet formative story of Jewish history that speaks to the millennium long pursuit for self-determination. Atop a rock formation overlooking the Dead Sea and Jordan beyond, King Herod of the Roman empire built a fortress. A few decades later a group of Jewish rebels - the Sicarii - who opposed Roman occupation of the area, hid at Masada during the first Jewish-Roman war. After a few months of sieges by the Roman forces of the Sicarii-held Masada, Roman forces overcame Jewish resistance only to find nearly 1,000 defendants had committed mass suicide or killed each other rather than surrendering.

As of today, Masada is a UNESCO World Heritage site, with some of the fortifications surviving its bloody history. It is an interesting spot to wander around, especially as you will likely be bumping into lots of IDF soldiers where the Masada hike is almost pilgrimage-like, as part of their initiation into the military. It also provides an unparalleled view of the landscape of the Death Sea coastline, with scars across the landscape caused by the occasional flooding and subsequent sinkholes.

As the sun rose and the temperatures with it, we made our way back down to the base by means of the cable car, and jumped in the car to drive another 20 minutes to Ein Bodek - a more lively town along the Dead Sea. The beach here was definitely more developed than the one we had experienced the day previous which was nice in some ways (showers to wash off the salt and sand beaches so you don’t fall into any sinkholes) but somewhat lacking the true experience in other ways (no Dead Sea mud!).

By the time we made it back to the camp in Ein Gedi sans our German friends who were continuing south for Eilat, we were exhausted. A 4am wake up, quick hike, sun-filled day and salty swim later - we collapsed into our mats for a mid-day nap. That evening we took it easy, munching chicken fingers from the bar, sipping Fantas and reading our books. We were also a little worried as we were told heavy rains (read: floods) were anticipated for the next day, in which case it would’ve been tough for us to leave given that transit stopped running due to sinkhole dangers if that was the case.

The next morning, being Shabbat, and no transit running until the evening, we decided to take a walk over to the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve which was supposed to be pretty. It was an overcast day, which was welcomed, but also made us nervous as we were eager to make it back to Tel Aviv after a few days in the sleepier Ein Gedi area. The walk over took us along a path where a sinkhole had completely destroyed a main thoroughfare which was interesting to see up close.

The reserve is a pretty popular hiking area in Israel with waterfalls, wildlife (have you ever heard of a vole?!) and fresh water springs. After a few days of salt-water and desert, it was nice to be able to wade through the refreshing spring water and see some green. We sat beside a stream for a little while eating our mini-picnic of dried mango slices and pistachios. After grabbing a popsicle at the entrance, and bumping into one of the bartenders from the Lodge who offered us a ride back, we packed up our packs, ready to head out as soon as the first bus arrived in order to beat the rains. Luckily, after a few beers, a few games of pool, and an awesome life chat with our bartender, we hopped on the Egged bus and made it back to Tel Aviv.

And now… we’re headed back to Tel Aviv for our last few days of sunshine, beaches, delicious streetfood and nights out. Care to join? Follow along here.