I’m pretty sure that going to the Dead Sea in Israel or Jordan is on your bucket list. If not, then it really should be for many reasons.
It is located at the world’s lowest point on land 418 meters under sea level. For that reason alone I can say it is one of the most magical places I have even seen. There are also predictions that Dead Sea will dry out and will be fully gone 50 years from now. So it’s now or never!
So what’s so special about the Dead Sea?
Dead Sea is actually a salt lake that’s located in territories of Israel and Jordan. The lake is quite long but very narrow. You can drive along the coast for quite some time but the opposite coast is always visible and very close.
I would even say it’s about 10-minute swim away and you are in the other country. However I wouldn’t suggest to even try that as illegally crossing Israeli or Jordanian border would be one of the worst things you could do ever and bad things will happen afterwards for sure.
Dead Sea has the saltiest water on the planet and not a single creature lives there. This is great for people who doesn’t like to swim together with sea monsters. And you probably already know that in the Dead Sea it’s possible to simply lay on the water and float.
You must have seen some of those classic pictures of people lying on the water and reading newspapers. This is probably the biggest cliché there is about Israel but it’s still fun. However it’s all indeed true.
The trick behind the floating phenomenon is that the water has 33% salt concentration while an average ocean has only 3%.
The water is full of minerals such as calcium, potassium, sodium, magnesium and bromides. The high salt concentration in combination of minerals makes everything float on top of water and never sink.
Dead Sea is also famous for its clay. This clay is amazing for your skin as it enriches blood circulation in your skin, deep-cleans it, removes all itching and inflammations you’re your skin.
People say that also the sun above the Dead Sea is especially healthy and people go there to cure different skin diseases.
And we saw it ourselves – sunlight in the area really is unique. Most of the year the Dead Sea region experiences high degrees and pretty intense heat. Therefore the sea water evaporates rapidly which makes The Dead Sea area to be covered by its own special ozone layer.
The mist helps to filter out the skin damaging UV radiation that can cause skin cancer, burns and aging.
It allows sunbathe much longer and more intensively than at any other place on Earth. Even the sun sensitive people doesn’t get sun burn at any time except 11:00 to 14:00 when the sun is most intense.
The air in the area is very dry, unpolluted and pollen-free. Since the air that contain high levels of bromide and 10% more oxygen, it promotes complete relaxation and makes breathing much easier. All these natural elements help to get rid of such skin disorders as psoriasis and vitiligo for a long run and also they are excellent for the treatment of respiratory and joint problems.
From my own experience I can assure that the tan is amazing there and skin is just glowing.
If you choose to visit Dead Sea in Israel there’s only one issue after all these great things that you also have to be aware about. They have actually only one small beach area where you can access Dead Sea from the Israel side. It’s located by the village called Ein Bokek.
So there are very few hotels located nearby with the access of this beach and as you might have already guessed – they are super expensive. Plus they are also not located right on the beach. You have to take a 5-min bus ride down from the Village to the beach.
As alternative those hotels have built swimming pools and filled with the water from Dead Sea so that you don’t even have to make your way down to the beach. If you like lying by the pool and spending that time in the hotel it’s a great choice.
If you are more adventurous type of traveler there are some other pretty crazy ways how to end up swimming in the Dead Sea even though it’s not accessible from anywhere else. Read more about that here: How visiting Dead Sea will absolutely be what you didn’t expect.
10 comments
I have never been to the Dead Sea and I didn’t know how beneficial can be for your health. Definitely on the list now as it combines vacation by the sea with health and beauty.
I went to the Death Sea on the Jordan side. It was a cool experience for half an hour and we make sure to take some cool pictures but I did not find it very comfortable (because the huge amount of salt in the water
I’ve enjoyed some wonderful floats in the Dead Sea on the Jordanian side. It was an amazing experience! The mud-slathering skin benefits are also fabulous. Highly recommend a float, newspaper or no newspaper!
Love your shot with the healing properties of the mud. Sounds like quite an amazing experience. Similar to the Dead Sea is Laguna Cejar in Chile. Like, the Dead Sea, it is also facing extinction. Time to visit now!! Great article.
The waters of the Dead Sea are legendary. Were you super thirsty after soaking in the salty water?
This is absolutely on my bucket list and I love your perspective on visiting the Dead Sea. I never realized beach access was so limiting!
Only a ten minute swim away?? now that is an awesome experience, to swim into another country! Its so sad to even think that this beauty can disappear in just 50 years! Might have to go
I would love to do this experience including slathering on the mud all over my body and get rid of those terrible toxins, sign me up
The Dead Sea has always been a dream destination of mine and I would totally love to float on the sea. I would have to do this in Jordan, as I already been to Israel and don’t really want to go back there (unless I have too). The landscape around the Dead Sea looks unique as well.
I’ve always wanted to visit there. My sister visited about fifteen years ago, and I thought it was so cool seeing pictures of her floating in the water!