Ein Rashash: Israel’s Most Beautiful Natural Infinity Pool

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Distance: <1km	Time: 1-2 hours	Difficulty: Easy
Ascent: 90m

Summer’s here, and you know what that means: It’s time to find every amazing place to dunk in the country.  If you know Israel, you know that Israelis love their ma’ayanot, or natural springs. And our kids are definitely Israeli…

So this past week, on the first Friday of summer vacation, we set out with a couple of the kids to check out a spring in the Shomron called Ein Rashash.  I’d been hearing about this incredible pool for quite some time. I was eager to see what all of the fuss was about.

Anyone who’s been to a natural spring knows that Fridays are the most popular day of the week for visiting and swimming.  If we wanted to have any quiet at all, we were going to have to get there early.

With a plan in place, we got ready to set out at 7 AM on (ok, 7:30…some teens have a hard time getting up so early on Friday!).  Although Ein Rashash was at least an hour drive from our home near Jerusalem, we hoped that we would still be there early enough to enjoy a bit of quiet along with the lovely scenery.

The good news? We were right on time.  We had the pool practically to ourselves for a couple of hours.  The scenery was simply unparalleled – it’s the type of place you have to experience first hand to understand.  And the only tricky part was the road to get there.  The drive was so noteworthy that it deserves to be written up as part of the complete adventure.

Here’s what our Friday morning visit to Ein Rashash looked like:

Death Defying Drive

We were expecting the trip to Ein Rashash to take about an hour.  But we forgot to take into account the 20 minute slow drive down an extremely challenging road to get to the spring.

We passed through Jerusalem, by Kochav Hashahar, and were soon headed out into the middle of nowhere on a long, dusty – rocky – road.  So, I took it slow. And it wasn’t so bad like that.  As long as I drove slowly, it seemed that our non- 4×4 car would do just fine.  We passed by cute cows and a pathway to a farm.  And then we hit the really difficult part.

This stretch of the rocky road was cliffside.  I just kept my eyes on the road ahead and continued along slowly.  But my kids on the other side of the car were petrified.  They encouraged me to move in as far as possible so we wouldn’t fall off the cliff. 

And we made it!

So Worth It

Getting out of the car, it was clear that this visit to a spring was going to be well worth it.  There were only two other cars parked in the parking area.  And the scenery was absolutely incredible.

A perfect blue sky filled with puffy white clouds sat over desert hills and valleys, piled one on top of the other until flattening out in the distance.  It was the kind of view that takes your breath away.

We followed the marked trail towards Ein Rashash, over a rocky cliff, until we heard the sounds of cool refreshing water.

Woah

Ein Rashash deserved every bit of the hype.  It was a gorgeous infinity pool, filled with sparkling water.  There were several benches, one with a chaise longue, and a picnic table a swing scattered about.  Frogs croaked behind the pool.  Trees swayed in the breeze – fig, olive, pomegranate.  All of this next to a view that was almost unbelievable.

Before jumping right in, we headed over to the little cave at the back of the area, the source of the spring. Inside, crystal clear water flowed down into a channel, that poured into the pool below.

Time to Get Wet

We couldn’t restrain ourselves any longer.  It was time to experience Ein Rashash for ourselves!

First one of our kids went down the ladder, reporting that the water was cool and clear. Then the next one jumped in, soaking himself from head to toe.  They reported that the water was deep, but shallow enough to stand in some places.  Soon we were all splashing around in the water.

And that’s how we spent our morning at Ein Rashash – jumping in to cool off, then sitting out in the sun.  We spread out a picnic breakfast next to the pool and enjoyed that too.  Eventually, after a lot of water play, I perched myself on the edge of the pool where I could experience the cool water without getting completely wet.  From there, we counted frogs hopping around in the greenery below.

It was a perfect morning.

Get Out While the Getting’s Good

At just around 10:30, the crowds arrived.  We had had plenty of time to enjoy the cool waters of Ein Rashash in peace.  It was time to head off to the next adventure.

We packed up and set off back to the pulse quickening road that brought us to this magical place.

This time, my husband drove.

Hikers’ Notes:

Here’s what you need to know to visit Ein Rashash:

• This spring is located in Judea and Samaria. Make sure you feel comfortable with your level of personal safety when traveling here.
• Bring sunscreen and water! There isn't much shade at Ein Rashash.
• There are trails that lead to Ein Rashash. We'll hike them in the wintertime and update.