By car from Mt. Yoash and by foot to the sea

The beginning of the trail is at the western-most traffic circle of Eilat at the beginning of the Ma'ale Eilat road (Route 12). The road leads you to the Eilat Mountains reserve, which features a variety of rocks of different colors and textures. Among them the most ancient rocks exposed in the country created more than 560 million years ago. The road crosses the wide channel of Nahal Shlomo and climbs parallel to the ancient Ma'ale Eilat. Look right at the curves of the ancient hill and the monument of the IDF Engineering Corps at its head as you travel the new road between Mount Yehoram and Mount Yoash. You will turn left following the sign to a dirt road to the Mt. Yoash observation point. The road is suitable for private vehicles (not for buses) but requires careful driving with the sharp curves up the steep and winding road to the top of the mountain.

The trail is accessible by all private cars and includes a walking section that is suitable for families.
On the summit of Mount Yoash, there are three observation terraces with explanatory signs - to the southeast, to the west, and the northwest.
After the observation points from the top of the mountain, you will return to the Ma'ale Eilat road and descend back towards Eilat to the point where the road crosses the wide channel of Nahal Shlomo. Here, you will turn left onto the dirt road that descends on the wadi channel.

\The road is marked with red trail markings. The trip down the wadi is a landscape of bedrock foundations of the most ancient exposed in the country created more than 560 million years ago. After about 4 km you will meet a road from the right, marked with blue trail markings. You will turn up with Nahal Rechavam, about two kilometers to the Rechavam syncline. The landscape changes and changes colors with the bright colors of sea sedimentary rocks. To the right is Rechavam Hill - an interesting geological phenomenon of inversion, wherein a geological ridge becomes a topographical peak. To your left is the trail of the Gershon cliffs. It is recommended to get out of the vehicle and climb to the top of the hill (a 300-meter walk). From the top is an impressive observation point of the canyon of Nahal Gershon. You will return to the car and drive back to the road (marked with red) in Nahal Shlomo.
Turn right and continue the journey down the river about two kilometers to the green trail markings for the hiking trails, where a two-hour hike begins to the top of Mount Cfachot and from there to the seashore. [You can leave the vehicle at this point and return to pick it up by taxi from the end of the beach. If you travel with more than one vehicle, can jump from one point to the end of the route near the beach near the entrance to the coral reserve.]

* The trail brings you together with bedrock, dikes and metamorphic rocks - rocks that were formed due to stress from heat processes that occur at a depth of the earth's crust. From Mt. Cfachot, there is an impressive observation point to the east, to the Gulf of Eilat. To the south, you can see the seashore, the 'Coral Island' or 'I'Salah al-Din' as it is now called in Sinai. From here you will continue on the green trail markings and descend to the sea below.
*Another option is to continue driving until the endpoint and start the hiking route from the beach ion the blue trail markings and begin at the end of the road facing west from the square at the 'Coral Beach.'

Written by Asaf Holtzer

Photo: Dafna Tal for the Israeli Ministry of Tourism