Nahal Sdakim: Canyoning in South

Flash flood danger

Do not enter the canyon when rain is forecast in the area or upstream, even under clear skies. Check the forecast on the morning of the trip.

Inside a nature reserve

Keep to the reserve rules and stay on the marked trails.

A steep canyon by Mitzpe Shalem with a long run of rappels up to fifty-five metres, reached by a long plateau walk.

Also known as: Nahal Sedakim

Information as of 24 Oct 2026

At a glance

Trail length: 10 km
Total descent: 650 m
Tallest waterfall: 55 m
Number of waterfalls: 18
Shuttle: Needed

Circular route:: No
Flash flood risk:: High
Reserve:: Yes

Field reports

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Meeting point (parking)

Mitzpe Shalem gate

The meeting point is the parking spot. You continue on foot from here.

Waze Google Maps

Coordinates: 31.56549, 35.40019

About

Nahal Sdakim starts on the desert plateau right by the edge of the escarpment, so it loses height very fast. The book's sketch shows about six hundred and fifty metres of descent over about two kilometres, between high walls.

Shortly after a green-marked dirt road crosses the channel you reach two drops that can be bypassed. Next is a twenty-four metre drop with no bypass, and right after it the highest drop, fifty-five metres down a sloping wall.

Below the big drop a dense series continues: first small drops that can be bypassed, then high drops with no bypass, ending with a thirty-eight metre drop. The bed then eases for about seven hundred and fifty metres among large boulders.

At the end there are four more drops close to Route 90. Bypass the upper two on the right bank and the lower two on the left bank; the lower bypass path comes out right on the road.

Access notes

The book starts at the gate of kibbutz Mitzpe Shalem. Climb Ma'ale Mikhvar on the blue marks along the spur between Nahal Darga and Nahal Hatzatzon, and stay on blue south to the Mitzpe Mikhvar viewpoint. From there walk west on a dirt road for about two kilometres to a green-marked road, follow it south to a black-marked road, and go about two kilometres further south to a junction with a green road on the upper tributaries of the stream. Descend east along the bed from there. You exit on the lower bypass path onto Route 90.

Parking

Park by the gate of kibbutz Mitzpe Shalem. The route is a half loop: you come out on Route 90 about two kilometres south of the Mitzpe Shalem junction, so a second car there helps. The book does not describe the way back to the gate.

Difficulty and suitability

Hiking distance: 10 km
Water activity: Yes
Route type: Mixed

Descent profile

Scroll sideways for details

Waterfalls(18)

#	Name	Height	Obstacle	Profile	Landing	Anchor	Bolts and stations	Rope	From previous
1	אBypass on the left	Height: –	Waterfall / rappel	–	–	–	–	–	–
Description Drop A in the book. Bypass Bypass on the left bank (facing downstream).
2	בBypass on the left	Height: 11 m	Waterfall / rappel	–	–	–	–	–	–
Description Drop B in the book. The distance from the previous obstacle is unclear in the sketch. The span of the sketch arrow is unclear. Bypass Bypass on the left bank (facing downstream).
3	ג	Height: 24 m	Waterfall / rappel	–	–	–	–	–	–
Description Drop C in the book. No bypass, unlike the two drops before it.
4	ד	Height: 55 m	Waterfall / rappel	Slab	–	–	–	–	–
Description Drop D in the book. The highest drop, down a sloping, not overhanging, wall. Its top is right at the foot of the previous drop.
5	–	Height: 4 m	Downclimb	–	–	–	–	–	–
Description Downclimb of about 4 m, not lettered in the book. Type assumed: the book does not say whether it is rappelled or downclimbed. Shown only in the book's sketch.
6	–	Height: 5 m	Downclimb	–	–	–	–	–	–
Description Downclimb of about 5 m, not lettered in the book. Type assumed: the book does not say whether it is rappelled or downclimbed. Shown only in the book's sketch.
7	–	Height: 8 m	Waterfall / rappel	–	–	–	–	–	–
Description Drop of about 8 m, not lettered in the book. Type assumed: the book does not say whether it is rappelled or downclimbed. Shown only in the book's sketch.
8	–	Height: 6 m	Waterfall / rappel	–	–	–	–	–	–
Description Drop of about 6 m, not lettered in the book. Type assumed: the book does not say whether it is rappelled or downclimbed. Shown only in the book's sketch.
9	–	Height: 10 m	Waterfall / rappel	–	–	–	–	–	–
Description Drop of about 10 m, not lettered in the book. Type assumed: the book does not say whether it is rappelled or downclimbed. Shown only in the book's sketch.
10	–	Height: 3 m	Downclimb	–	–	–	–	–	–
Description Downclimb of about 3 m, not lettered in the book. Type assumed: the book does not say whether it is rappelled or downclimbed. Shown only in the book's sketch.
11	–	Height: 6 m	Waterfall / rappel	–	–	–	–	–	–
Description Drop of about 6 m, not lettered in the book. Type assumed: the book does not say whether it is rappelled or downclimbed. Shown only in the book's sketch.
12	–	Height: 22 m	Waterfall / rappel	–	–	–	–	–	–
Description Drop of about 22 m, not lettered in the book. Type assumed: the book does not say whether it is rappelled or downclimbed. Shown only in the book's sketch.
13	–	Height: 8 m	Waterfall / rappel	–	–	–	–	–	–
Description Drop of about 8 m, not lettered in the book. Type assumed: the book does not say whether it is rappelled or downclimbed. Shown only in the book's sketch.
14	–	Height: 19 m	Waterfall / rappel	–	–	–	–	–	–
Description Drop of about 19 m, not lettered in the book. Type assumed: the book does not say whether it is rappelled or downclimbed. Shown only in the book's sketch.
15	–	Height: 8 m	Waterfall / rappel	–	–	–	–	–	–
Description Drop of about 8 m, not lettered in the book. Type assumed: the book does not say whether it is rappelled or downclimbed. Shown only in the book's sketch.
16	–	Height: 30 m	Waterfall / rappel	–	–	–	–	–	–
Description Drop of about 30 m, not lettered in the book. Type assumed: the book does not say whether it is rappelled or downclimbed. Shown only in the book's sketch.
17	–	Height: 9 m	Waterfall / rappel	–	–	–	–	–	–
Description Drop of about 9 m, not lettered in the book. Type assumed: the book does not say whether it is rappelled or downclimbed. Shown only in the book's sketch.
18	–	Height: 38 m	Waterfall / rappel	–	–	–	–	–	–
Description Drop of about 38 m, not lettered in the book. Type assumed: the book does not say whether it is rappelled or downclimbed. Ends the dense run. Below it the bed eases among large boulders.
19	Bypass on the right	Height: 13 m	Waterfall / rappel	–	–	–	–	–	750 m
Description Drop of about 13 m, not lettered in the book. Type assumed: the book does not say whether it is rappelled or downclimbed. Bypass One path on the right bank goes around the upper two drops of the last series. This bypass also goes around the next obstacle (20).
20	–	Height: 4 m	Downclimb	–	–	–	–	–	–
Description Downclimb of about 4 m, not lettered in the book. Type assumed: the book does not say whether it is rappelled or downclimbed.
21	Bypass on the left	Height: 8 m	Waterfall / rappel	–	–	–	–	–	–
Description Drop of about 8 m, not lettered in the book. Type assumed: the book does not say whether it is rappelled or downclimbed. Bypass A path on the left bank goes around the lower two drops and comes out on Route 90. This bypass also goes around the next obstacle (22).
22	–	Height: 12 m	Waterfall / rappel	–	–	–	–	–	–
Description Drop of about 12 m, not lettered in the book. Type assumed: the book does not say whether it is rappelled or downclimbed. The last drop before Route 90.

Points on the map

TrailheadPrimaryMitzpe Shalem gate
31.56549, 35.40019
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Route endNahal Sdakim at Route 90
31.54433, 35.39583
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Safety

Do not enter the canyon when rain is forecast in the area or upstream, even under a clear sky. After floods there are deep pools in the bed. From the twenty-four metre drop to the thirty-eight metre drop most high drops have no bypass, so commit only with the gear and time for the whole run. Some bypasses are awkward or unclear. The approach is longer than the canyon, so plan water and daylight.

Escape routes

After the bypass of the first two drops come a twenty-four metre drop and a fifty-five metre drop, and neither has a bypass.
The sketch shows an unmarked trail, Ma'ale Sdakim, meeting the bed below the thirty metre drop. The text does not mention it; check it on the ground.

Recommendations

The top of Ma'ale Mikhvar has a fine view over the Nahal Darga canyon, Mitzpe Shalem, the Dead Sea and the Moab mountains. Start early, since the approach is long and the drop series takes time.

Equipment

Full rappelling kit for each person: harness, helmet and descender, plus ropes for the group. The book gives no rope lengths and does not describe anchors. After floods, be ready for deep water.

Data sources

The information on this page was collected from these sources.

Based on the Hebrew guidebook "Judean Desert Canyons" by Ronen Kalimi (2023)

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Flash flood danger

Inside a nature reserve

👀At a glance

💧Field reports

🅿️Meeting point (parking)

📖About

🥾Access notes

🅿️Parking

🧭Difficulty and suitability

📉Descent profile

🪢Waterfalls(18)

🗺️Points on the map

⚠️Safety