Hiking Wadi Murabba’at is a real experience but not meant for everyone! Wadi Murabba’at, also known as Nahal Darga, is a ravine cut by a seasonal stream that runs from the Judean desert east of Bethlehem past the Herodium down to the Dead Sea. Furthermore, it was in these caves Jewish fighters hid during the Bar Kochba revolt; leaving behind documents that include some letters signed by Simon Bar Kochba.
There are two ways to hike the area. There is a shorter trail suitable for families but still those that know how to hike and carry their weight. It’s a circular route about 4 km long and passes through a less steep part of the stream. The route is suitable for kids from the age of 10. The trail will take you to the interesting Murabba’at caves.
One of the things you will learn while Hiking Wadi Murabba’at is that in the cave a collection of letters and administrative documents from the period of the Bar Kubba revolt (132-135 CE). Murabba’at caves seem to have been used by the rebel fighters as a hiding place while fleeing the Romans. The great distance from any place of settlement; the size of the caves and their proximity to a source of water made the caves the place where they chose to settle and therefore brought with them documents from Herodium from which they fled. Some of the scrolls found were written by Bar Kochba himself and until that time, it was not clear if he was a real figure or a legendary figure.
