Surroundings, Elat

10km/6mi northwest of Elat is the spring of En Netafim. It is reached by turning off the road to Moon Valley, some 10km/6mi from Elat, into an unsurfaced road signposted to En Netafim. In 800m (half a mi) the road comes to a car park, from which it is a 10-minute walk to En Netafim. It is the only spring in this area which flows throughout the year. The water gushes over a rock and falls into a pool below.

The Gorge of the Inscriptions, named after the numerous Nabataean, Hebrew and Greek inscriptions on its rock walls, is reached on a road (all-terrain vehicles only) which branches off the Moon Valley road on the left (22km/13.5mi from Elat).

The dispute between Egypt and Israel over the Taba enclave, 8km/5mi southwest of Elat, was settled in 1989. This strip of land covering an area of 1 sq.km/250 acres, with a luxury hotel and a holiday village, now belongs to Egypt. The nude bathing which was formerly common here is now banned. For a trip to Taba and farther along the Sinai peninsula regard must be had to the Egyptian entry regulations.

Some 5km/3mi beyond the Israeli-Egyptian frontier, to the left of the road, can be seen the little offshore islet known as the Coral Island or Pharaoh's Island, a coral-fringed granite rock measuring 320m/350yds by 150m/165yds, with a small sheltered harbor (many starfish) on the south side. This is identified by some authorities with the Old Testament port of Ezion-geber. The island seems to have been inhabited since the time of the 20th Dynasty in Egypt and to have been used as a port for the shipment of copper from the mines of the Arava and Timna valleys (both now in Israel). It is crowned by the conspicuous ruins of a 12th century Crusader castle.

Some 20km/12.5mi north of the turning for Timna is the oasis (date-palms) of the kibbutz of Yotvata, originally founded in 1951 as an army post. It is watered by an abundant spring, En Yotvata (Arabic Ain Radian), which is mentioned in the Old Testament ("Jotbath, a land of rivers of waters": Deuteronomy 10,7). The kibbutz's visitor center puts on an audio-visual show which illustrates the geography and way of life of the region. There is also an exhibition on the flora and fauna, the geology and history of the desert region.

From the Yotvata visitor center there are excursions to the nearby Hai Bar Nature Reserve. The reserve, which has an area of 10,000 acres, was established in 1963 as a home for the desert animals which lived in this area in Biblical times. It is now occupied by antelopes, wild asses, ostriches, etc., and has a new section in which leopards, wolves, foxes, hyenas and other predators can be watched in their natural surroundings. In the "Nocturnal Room" desert animals who are naturally nocturnal in their habits can be observed.

Dolphin Reef Eilat is located on the Red Sea and offers a unique opportunity to mingle with dolphins Visitors can observe bottlenose dolphins which are free to come and go as the please but choose to interact with humans near the shoreline. Options for visitors include viewing the dolphins from floating walk ways that lead out from the shore or going on a guided swim.The site also includes a beautiful stretch of beach where visitors can sit and enjoy the views and beautiful surroundings.