The Nahal Kina route in the Judean desert offers a visit to the remains of an ancient citadel, a dip in a backwater that fills up in winter and desert blossoms in the most wonderful season. The presence of phosphate in the area of the Arad Valley is called "Brir field" and a mining plan hangs over it, which entails a health hazard and of course fatal landscape damage.
The route begins near Khirbat Uza, a fortress from the Israeli period (6th-7th centuries BC), which was also used in later periods.