Day 1 Arrival
Arrive at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport and transfer to our hotel in the desert Welcome dinner at the hotel
Gentle movement and get to know your fellow travelers
Dinner and Overnight : Kedma Hotel
Day 2 – Yoga, Workshop and the Story of the Blooming of the Desert
Yoga/meditation outside- (staff led)
Morning Workshop (in private room staff led)
Afternoon activity with guide – lunch boxes
Visit the Haggi lookout, the lost city and the Ben Gurion home
The breathtaking viewpoint over Sde Zin at the beginning of our tour marks a site that has been built on since Byzantine times. Walking for an hour down a gentle slope brings us to a small valley where the almost-obscured ruins of an ancient town show evidence of a culture that once flourished in the desert. From here, we continue to Kibbutz Sde Boker, and learn about David Ben Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister, his vision for the desert, and his wife, Paula. We continue with a fascinating activity on the kibbutz that will provide a memortable experience for all.
Optional tai chi workshop or sunset bike tour
Dinner and Overnight: Kedma Hotel
Day 3 Theme: Yoga, Workshop and indigenous residents and culture of the desert
Yoga/meditation in the desert
Morning Workshop
Creek beds provide perfect opportunities to examine the abilities of native animals and plants to survive in this harsh environment. As we walk along the creek beds, the desert unfolds before us, giving us the chance to experience the drama of its vast stillness and silence.
Experience Bedouin lunch/hospitality first-hand when we visit the home of an historical Bedouin family in the area, and watch how they prepare pita bread the same way their ancestors did. Through personal conversation, we will learn about their life style and culture; and hear about their history and the challenges they face today as a minority community. Learn how the Bedouin’s tradition culture faces the dilemma of rapid change as access to education and technology impacts on the community’s younger generations. Our trip includes a walk in the area, where we will see one thousand year old rock carvings that bear witness to the importance of rituals in this ancient culture.
Desert Bedouin dinner
Day 4 Theme: Yoga, Workshop and the Environment
Yoga class/meditation in the desert
Morning workshop (in private room)
Drive to Mizpe Ramon for walk along the crater.
Jeep trip followed by lunch and wine tasting at a local winery (incl) Return to hotel to relax
Night hike in Nahal Hawarim with a local guide
OVERNIGHT: Kedma Hotel, Negev Desert
Day 5 Theme: Biking, the anient Nabatean and desert agriculture
Early am Bike ride along the cliff edge of Nahal Zin at sunrise. Watch the light change over the mountains.
Breakfast and Checkout
Visit the ancient town of Avdat, the perfect location to learn about the Nabataean’s expertise in desert water management. Although destroyed by earthquakes in the seventh century, Avdat is a fascinating historical site that gives us an insight into Nabataean life, and the nearby Ramlia wells provide us with further insight into the water-management skills of this desert culture.
A visit to a farm named after one of the Nabatean priests named Orlia, on the farm we will learn about the process of producing Moroccan argon oil and its health properties. Drive to Kfar Hanokdim
Camel ride
Dinner and drum circle. Let the rhythms into your body and your soul and let them take you to new places. In the drum circle you will become a drummers yourselves, you will learn different techniques and about ways of life in cultures in which drums play a major role.
Dinner and Overnight-Kfar Hanokdim bungalows
Day 6 Theme :Yoga, Masada and the Dead Sea Early yoga in the desert
Climb up Masada on the Roman Ramp
Walk snake path down
Drive to Dead Sea hotel, Private room for workshop
Lunch and Time for spa (treatments extra) – at Dead Sea hotel Desert mud party
Transfer to the airport
Check in at hotel: (those that are leaving transfer to the airport)
