Masada and the Desert of Judea – Israel
The last Jewish holdout to fall to Rome
On a rather unplanned and unexpected free extra day that happened out of miracle; well, I confess, because of having nothing else to see and do back in Tel Aviv as we saw everything in just one day (and even less!), this was the best that could have happened in the trip. Masada. Although I heard of this place before, I did not even think of it nor remembered when i planned the Israel tour. Too short time and too much already in the agenda. But was thanks to my friend who reminded it to me that If any some spare time, we should not miss the chance of getting here.
Not only this worked great, but also the route we took to get there. We did only know about 3 possible routes. One we discarded immediately merely because it crosses through Palestine in quite a disputed area, but the other 2 we only selected the shortest one. Glad this was the choice! From Arad, were both of the routes lead to Masada, one avoids the Judea Desert and goes towards the Dead Sea where one of the entrances to Masada is. The easiest route and easiest access via the cable car. But the other enters the Judea Desert and crosses incredible beautiful scenery, and offers the best view of the entire Masada and the Dead Sea from far and above. As I will also remind you below under the transportation section, do not hesitate in choosing the route you want to drive. This is for sure your best bet.
Although there are day tours that leave from elsewhere in Israel, most common from Tel Aviv, Jerusalem of Bethlehem, those are of higher cost than if renting a car instead and specially if you are more than one person travelling. Driving in Israel is easy due to the good road network though a bit chaotic in the cities. Masada after all is just that, the ancient fortification, something you can see in 2 hours no more, therefore that making the trip worth it coupled with something else which is even along your way, will give you a wider look to this region.
