All about the daffodils blooming (Photo: Avi Ben David, Gila Jacobi Gurvitz)
Every year, starting in December through the peak in January and ending in February, Nahal Hattz in the Negev is perfumed with a stunning bloom of the beauty of daffodils.
Thanks to the rock surfaces in the gorge, the flowers take advantage of moist ecological pockets, and manage to grow in places they are not naturally adapted to.
The Negev Field School of the Society for the Protection of Nature recommends you a moderate route suitable for the whole family, where we will encounter ancient water cisterns and the wonderful bloom of daffodils.
They start to bloom in December until February.
Daffodils in the gravel stream (photo: Society for the Protection of Nature)
to the trip we went
Starting point:
"Nahal Chatz overnight parking lot", about half a kilometer north of the area with a black marker that turns east from the road to a dirt path.
You also return to this parking lot at the end of the route.
In Wise: Nahal Hattz
overnight parking lot
Length:
about 7 km (3.5 km each way) Darshat Koshi
- easy to medium, for families who like to walk.
Route type:
long lines
Recommended season:
winter and spring
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You can smell but not pick.
Daffodils in the gravel stream (photo: Society for the Protection of Nature)
Description of the route
The gravel stream runs along the south-western edge of Hatira Ridge, one of the largest ridges in the Negev Mountains and connects to the Shepherd's Stream, near the parking lot where we parked the cars.
From here and for about three kilometers we will move east on a dirt road marked in black.
After 1.4 km from the road, we will turn left (north) and after about 150 meters we will reach the gravel pits. Four water pits that were probably dug by the Nabateans who lived in the Negev Mountains during the Roman and Byzantine periods, and in the Byzantine period there was an extensive settlement layout here that includes ancient settlements, water pits and agricultural terraces in the river channels.
The pits are dry, but the largest one stores water after floods.
You can enter it carefully to see the beautiful support pillars in the pit.
From the pits we will return to the dirt road, which continues along the gravel stream.
Further on, the path becomes narrow and intended for pedestrians only, we will climb a rocky and moderate gorge, where we will hope for shallow water after floods.
After about a kilometer on the usual path, we will reach the daffodil blooming site.
After enjoying watching and smelling the daffodils we will retrace our steps to the cars.
One of four water cisterns that were apparently dug by the Nabatim.
Gravel pits (photo: Society for the Protection of Nature)
Nature conservation highlights:
Do not leave dirt or garbage in the area and do not pick the daffodils.
Sde Har HaNegev School is taking guided trips to Nahal Hatzat on the weekend of January 27-28, 2023 and on the weekend of February 3-4, 2023. For details and registration.
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daffodils
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the Negev