Ma'aleh Akrabim, Heritage site in Tamar Regional Council, Israel

Ma'aleh Akrabim is a road descending from the Hatzeva ridge at 402 m to the Tzin valley at 80 m, built by the British Mandate in 1927 as a soling road on the slope facing the Byzantine route. Its serpentines drop 322 m over 3.6 km in more than 36 bends, held by stone retaining walls, with barrels placed along the edges by IDF soldiers after 1948.

The Roman-Byzantine road, 7 km long from the foot of the ascent to its top, linked Hebron-area sites such as Mamshit with the Arabah and the Gulf of Eilat for goods transport. Its 36% gradient was overcome with many hairpins and rock-cut steps, and stone walls supported the roadway against erosion. The British Mandate paved a new road in 1927 on the slope facing the ancient route, using the serpentine method with stone retaining walls; it dropped from 402 m to 80 m over 3.6 km in more than 36 bends. In November 1948 Israeli forces took the road during Operation Lot, and after 1950 the Engineering Corps asphalted it and set barrels along its edges.

The name Ma'aleh Akrabim means Scorpions Pass in Hebrew. The ascent is also called Nekv Tzfai in Arabic, "the light ascent", after the chalky slope it climbs. Since 2012 the serpentines have been listed for preservation by the Middle Arava heritage committee, together with the Mandate-era soling road to Umm Rashrash.

The road is closed to traffic from March 2017 to the present, after an earlier closure from 2007 to 2014. It has no guardrails and no shoulders, with gradients of up to 36% and sharp bends above a deep drop. Four observation points over the Arava, Nahal Zin and the Roman-Byzantine road carry short explanations.

The road is closed to traffic from March 2017, after a previous closure from 2007 to 2014, and the Transport Ministry lists it as a road without a responsible authority. Its serpentine section is slated to become one-way with a speed limit so the original layout and the barrels along its edges can be kept.