Explore Ramon

The Ramon Crater in Israel’s Negev Desert is the world’s largest erosion crater or makhtesh. A landform unique to Israel’s Negev and Egypt’s Sinai deserts’, a makhtesh is a large erosion cirque, created 220 million years ago when oceans covered the area (the word crater is therefore a misleading translation of Hebrew to English.) The Ramon Crater measures 40km in length and between 2 and 10km in width, shaped like a long heart, and forms Israel’s largest national park, the Ramon Nature Reserve. Visiting the Ramon Crater can vary from a stop off on a journey through the Negev to witness the crater from above, or a longer visit to take in the history and science of the area, hike, drive or cycle through the makhtesh, and appreciate the unique geology that is on offer.