Ein Gedi, Nature reserve and national park near the Dead Sea, Israel

Ein Gedi is a nature reserve and national park in the Judean Desert near the Dead Sea in Israel. Four permanent springs feed waterfalls and pools that wind through limestone cliffs and create pockets of green vegetation amid the barren landscape.

People settled here as early as the Chalcolithic period around 6000 years ago and left behind a temple between two springs. Byzantine inhabitants built a synagogue with mosaic floors in the fifth century that survives today.

The name means "spring of the kid goat," after the ibex that still come down to the water. The reserve also holds the largest concentration in Israel of tropical trees, some at the northern limit of their range; the acacia that gives Nahal David its Arabic name, Wadi al-Sudeir, is linked in Christian tradition to the crown of thorns.

The reserve opens daily from 8 AM to 5 PM with marked hiking trails leading to the waterfalls and springs. Paths can be slippery, so sturdy shoes and plenty of drinking water are recommended.

Nubian ibex and rock hyrax move freely across the rocks and often approach visitors near the water sources. The springs sustain a rare mix of desert animals and tropical plant species that otherwise occur hundreds of kilometers away.