Nitzana National Park has a variety of light and smooth hills with strange shapes that are right on the border of Egypt, and offer a surreal trip to one of the most isolated areas in Israel.
Nitzana hills is the name given to a natural rock park near the Egyptian border. The whitish, rounded, winding and smooth chalk rocks were formed by natural weathering in such a way that they look just like marvels.
But before we talk about the place itself, you should understand –
What is Chalk?
Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Massive chalk subsidence took place in Europe, large parts of North America, and the Middle East for about 30 million years, in the period called the Cretaceous, between 99 and 65 million years ago.
Due to it being a very soft rock that is easy to break and shape, the chalk was used for mining houses and various buildings in the stone. In Israel, you can see an example of this in the area of Beit Govrin caves.
Nitzana National Park
Nitzana is a settlement located at the entrance to Nitzana national park – an area belonging to the Ramat Negev Regional Council (near the Egyptian border) and includes five settlements and a number of tourist sites. The five settlements located in the Nitzana region are Kadesh Barnea (also called Nitzaney Sinai, about 42 families), Azuz (Mitzvah Azuz, about 15 families), Kamhin (about 35 families), Beer Malka (about 30 families) and Nitzana (about 20 families).
The Nitzana chalk hills must be reached by car. There is nothing else in the area. From the parking lot, a short stone-walled path leads to the site (called in Hebrew “Hamukey Nitzana”) – a concentration of soft chalk rocks that create unique shapes. There, is a variety of small and large chalk hills, without a neat path, without trail markings, without borders. Only you, and the mesmerizing nature.
Keep in mind that the area is near the border with Egypt, so it is recommended not to go there alone, and only during the day (do not stay at the site after dark). It is recommended to plan the visit for dusk, preferably from 15:00 onwards – so you will not suffer in the sun, and will be able to enjoy the full visual effect of the place.
Hiking Trail in Nitzana National Park
So it is true that we said there is almost nothing in the area – but that is not entirely accurate. The regional council invested funds and constructed a pleasant hiking route (marked with a red trail marker) that leads from Hamukey Nitzana to Horesh Nitzana, through part of the Nitzana National Park – in the west of the Negev.
From the parking lot, we will turn north, and cross the road we came on. We will start walking on the “Yossi Yaffe Trail”, which we will leave after about 300 meters, and turn towards the northeast. From here, we will advance on a route that passes through a variety of canyons full of desert vegetation and ancient terraces.
In the last part of the trail, we will pass by the sculptures of the “Way of Peace” – an environmental sculpture, the work of the artist Dani Karavan, made of a hundred artificial stone pillars, reminiscent of pillars from the Byzantine period. The two lines of columns, which stand about 30 meters apart, begin their path near the 8th Brigade monument at the foot of Tel Nitzana and run in a straight line to the Egyptian border, near the Nitzana terminal. At the top of each pillar, the work “peace” is written in a different language, which characterizes the various peoples who passed along this ancient road that passes through Nitzana – from ancient Sumerian and Egyptian to modern languages - Hebrew, English, and Arabic.
How To Get There
Drive on road 211 towards Nitzana, and at the Nitzana junction turn south (left), and pass the youth village. You will pass a row of columns on both sides of the road (the statues of the “Way of Peace” by Danny Karavan), and you will see the mound of the Nabatean city of Nitzana to the left of the road (Nitzana National Park).
2 km after the Nitzana junction, a brown road sign will point to the direction of “Hamukey Nitsana”. You can park on the side of the road, and you can drive along the stone-lined road, about 450 meters further, to the parking lot. From the parking lot, there is a short bumpy road to the south (not suitable for a private vehicle). The continuation of the road toward the border is blocked, and you cannot miss the turn.
In Wase: “Hamukey Nitsana”
The place has cellular reception. Although there is not much walking from the parking lot to the chalk hills, it is recommended to come with comfortable walking shoes, a hat, and enough water.
