Situated at the southernmost tip of Israel and at the northern tip of the Red Sea, is the bustling and exquisite resort city of Eilat. Although it forms a part of the Southern Negev Desert, Eilat has moderate climate due to its location near the sea. Summer months are extremely hot here while winter is pleasant with lower temperatures. Excavations reveal that the city was inhabited way back in the 7th millennium BC. Mining was prevalent in the area with the Timna Valley Park being the oldest mining works in the world.
Eilat is a popular tourist destination because of its lovely beaches, beautiful landscape and an invigorating vibrant nightlife. Tourism is the main contributor to the city’s economy. There is a lot that you can do in Eilat besides soaking in the beauty of the beaches and enjoying the rather stimulating nightlife. The city offers some exquisite marine reserves that house some exotic flora and fauna and a wide variety of marine creatures. The Coral Beach Nature Reserve is an underwater marine reserve that houses tropical flora and fauna.
Coral World Underwater Observatory is also an interesting place to visit. It has a museum and water tanks where you can see sharks, turtles and stingrays. You can also enjoy simulation rides here. Dolphins Reef is a marine biology reserve where people can swim with the dolphins, a very human-friendly marine creature. Kings City is a Biblical theme park, close to the Stella Maris Lagoon. The Astronomical Observatory can also be visited. Some of the outdoor activities that one can enjoy here are swimming, scuba and skin diving, bird watching, camel tours, yacht tours, freefall parachuting and a visit to the ice park to beat the heat.
Eilat is well connected to all parts of Israel via land, sea and air transport. The Ovda International Airport is situated 50 km to the city in the northwest while the Eilat Airport caters to domestic flights.
Photo by Moshe Shaharur provided courtesy of Panoramio.com
Photo by Orly Yahalom provided courtesy of Panoramio.com
Photo by CarmelH provided courtesy of Panoramio.com
Photo by CarmelH provided courtesy of Panoramio.com
Photo by CarmelH provided courtesy of Panoramio.com