Things to Do in Dead Sea

Float in the hypersaline waters

The sensation is bizarre. You walk in expecting to swim. But the water pushes you up until you're reclining like you're on an invisible lawn chair. The salt stings any cuts. You'll discover ones you didn't know you had. The mineral-rich water leaves your skin feeling silicon-smooth afterward. Early morning is memorable here, when the mist rises off the surface and you can hear your own heartbeat echoing in the stillness.

Mud therapy at mineral beaches

The black mud here isn't just gimmicky. Locals swear by its therapeutic properties for arthritis and skin conditions. You'll see people slathering it on like cake frosting, then baking in the sun until it cracks. The mud feels cool and silky going on, with a faint petroleum smell, and when you rinse off in the sea, your skin feels like you've had an expensive spa treatment.

Sunrise hike to Wadi Qelt

The canyon leading down to the Dead Sea offers Palestine's most dramatic sunrise views. You'll start in darkness and watch the whole rift valley light up in layers of rose and amber. The trail echoes with the calls of desert larks, and you'll pass Byzantine ruins clinging to cliff faces, with the whole Dead Sea spreading below like a sheet of beaten metal.

Visit ancient Qumran caves

These cliffside caves feel haunted in the best way. You can still see the niches where the Dead Sea Scrolls hid for two millennia. The air tastes dusty and dry, with a slight tang of guano from bat colonies. From the caves, you look down on the sea's northern basin where it curves like a moon, and it's easy to imagine yourself back in 68 CE when the Essenes hurried their precious texts into these hiding spots.

Sunset dinner at Ein Gedi kibbutz

There's something surreal about eating grilled tilapia while watching the sun sink into the Dead Sea, turning the water blood-red. The kibbutz restaurant sits above the shoreline, where you can smell both the mineral tang of the sea and the desert sage on the breeze. As darkness falls, the lights of Jordan flick on across the water like a mirror image.

Ein Gedi kibbutz area. Concrete blocks with killer sea views, popular with Israeli weekenders.

Jericho resort villages. 15 minutes inland but way cheaper, with pool complexes that make up for no beach access.

Ein Bokek strip. Cluster of mid-rise hotels with private beaches, mostly catering to Russian tour groups.

Metzoke Dragot cliff cabins. Basic but atmospheric, perched above the sea with hiking trails from your door.

Wadi Qelt eco-lodge. Rustic stone huts in the canyon, solar power and compost toilets but memorable setting.

Dead Sea Spa Hotel zone. The splurge play. Thalassotherapy centers. Mineral pools. Book early.