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welcome area, there are escalators and elevators and the lines move quickly. After you arrive on the next level you must purchase a ticket for the cable car ride to the top. If you have a disability, there is a special ticket counter to purchase your ticket but it is very crowded and directional signage is difficult to find. For the very brave, you do have the option to hike very steep and narrow trails to the top. We took an elevator to the cable car entrance. Each car fits about 50 people. Space is a premium but anyone with a disability is given priority boarding and moving from the platform to the cable car is level and safe.
Ascending Masada in the cable car was breathtaking! The jagged rocks that form the foundation of Masada seem so close you could touch them, and the Dead Sea and Jordan were clearly visible. We reached our stop in just a few minutes. Once you exit the cable car you follow a wooden pathway built on the side of the mountain up to an archway carved into the rock. As you move through the archway you are taken onto a somewhat paved pathway covered in small gravel. A little tricky possibly, so be careful.
From there, hiking on the pathway to the top takes some time, some energy, and maybe a little help. Thank goodness I had back-up with my tour mates. They certainly got their aerobic exercise as we pushed hard to the summit. Once there, it was well worth it! We were literally standing on ancient ruins of the Palace of Herod in the Judean Desert! You can see for miles in every direction and for those who know and embrace this historically important place, I have to admit, they, like me, would need to close their eyes for a few minutes and imagine what it was like to have lived back when Masada was built. It is believed that Herod built Masada over a ten-year period using palms from the valley that helped to form a giant ramp from the ground to the top of the mountain.
We spent a couple of hours touring the mountain and then ate lunch in the cafeteria-style restaurant on site. There is also a very large gift and souvenir shop with many different items for sale, including plenty of beauty and health items from the Dead Sea. You can navigate most of the sites on Masada by using the paved pathways with caution as some are very steep. There are a number of areas that are not easily accessible and others that can be reached with some help. When coming to Israel, Masada is definitely a place you must visit.
We left Masada and then ventured to Ein Gedi for a quick drive through to see the David Canyon Nature Reserve and then drove on to a hostel just north of Ein Gedi. We stopped for a quick tour of the facility which overlooks the Dead Sea. The manager told us there were 18 fully accessible rooms, accessible dining hall, and grounds. A beautiful, accessible property!