Ramon Crater, also known as the makhteshim Ramon, forms Israel’s largest national park, the Ramon Nature Reserve.
The crater is the world’s largest erosion crater or makhtesh and is part of a landform unique to the Negev and Sinai deserts.
The Ramon visitors center, located on the edge of Ramon Crater in the town of Mitspe Ramon.
The center and tells the geological story of the formation of the Ramon Crater and has displays on the flora, fauna, and history of the region from prehistoric to modern times.
The display leads to a view of the makhtesh through a floor-to-ceiling window and the rooftop.
In Makhtesh Ramon there are some remains of buildings that served as way-stations along the Incense Route.
The route and the archaeological remains of Metsad Nekarot, Khan Saharonim, and Ma’aleh Mahamal are a part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The are hiking trails into the crater and tours available to those who want them.
The Ramon Crater offers a unique habitat for wildlife and thought you don’t often see them, many animals live there.
Animals that live here include Nubian ibexes, Dorcas gazelles, Negev deer, striped hyenas, golden jackals, wolfs, Negev fox, and few Arabian leopards.
The once locally extinct Asian wild ass has also been reintroduced to Makhtesh Ramon and since multiplied and spread to other places in the Negev.
The Bio Ramon offers a view of some 40 species of small desert creatures, as well as snakes, rodents, porcupines, lizards, scorpions and turtles.
The Amonites Wall is a fascinating site in the crater.
It is rocky wall containing fossils of ammonites which lived millions of years ago in the sea that covered the entire Negev.
Just so you know, the fossils are a protected natural phenomenon and it is forbidden to collect them.
Visit Ramon Crater
The easiest way to get to the Crater from Jerusalem and Tel Aviv is to drive.
However, it is possible to get there by bus as well.
The best places to stay are within Mitzpe Ramon or to camp at the Khan Be’erot campground.