Dead Sea Mushrooms – The Location
Waze:Dead Sea Mushrooms or “Isrotel Hotel” straight to the parking area
parking in a dirt area and walk of 5-10 minuts to the beach. Cross the road towards the sea and head south (passing the roundabout). A short walk through a dirt area and you’ll see the salt mushrooms sticking out of them.
Who should visit the place?
Suitable for romantic couples passing through the area. Suitable for families passing by. Guys who want to stop and splash in the water. Be aware that this is an undeclared beach. There are no chairs and no shade.
Dead Sea mushrooms – what is it?
A row of 15 white mushrooms sticking out of the water along the beach that is free to enter 🙂
They are made of a huge amount of salt that accumulates and over time creates the shape of the mushrooms we know.
They stick out of the water because the Dead Sea dries up so much that paths (the mushrooms) and stones that were once underwater now stick out, giving us a photogenic opportunity for Insta.
The salt mushrooms in the Dead Sea are an amazing ecological wonder, stunning pictures come out and in reality the turk colors of the water with the white color of the salt are even more beautiful. A particularly special and interesting experience. If you choose to go to Eilat via the Dead Sea – it is worth a stop of an hour or two, Pakal Coffee and continue to your business.
Briefly on the Dead Sea
The Dead Sea, as its name implies, is a salt lake.
For the sake of comparison, the Mediterranean Sea as we know it has a salt content of 3.5-3.9% and the Dead Sea has a salt concentration of 34.2%. In other words, the Dead Sea is 10 times saltier, very, very salty – you don’t dive in the Dead Sea (I don’t know, there have already been cases) – it will burn in the eyes.
The climate in the Dead Sea is desert, with cute camels all around, dry air and almost zero humidity. For those who don’t know – the water feeling of the Dead Sea is very oily, it feels like you showered with massage oil that doesn’t come off and become part of you, know this – I’m done illustrating. I fell in love with the Dead Sea and am planning many trips to the area.
Interesting fact about the Dead Sea and Nepal
Israel and Nepal exchanged stones in 2013.
The Dead Sea, the lowest place in the world, and Everest, the highest place in the world, exchanged stones.
A Israeli delegation that traveled to Nepal to lay the stones on Everest said that “Mount Everest grows by one centimeter every year, but no one knows that the Dead Sea loses 1.2 meters a year.”
Back to the mushrooms – pay attention
It is very important to note, the place is not regulated or declared – there are no rescue services, no canopies and no showers for washing the salt after immersion. To take a shower, you can go to the public beach of Ein Bokek and shower in the changing rooms that stand on the beach for free – about a 10-15 minute walk from the mushrooms. I emphasize this paragraph following our visit to the Dead Sea mushrooms during the hot summer months, which I will detail below.
There is no and there is none. So… What there is?
So very much depending on when you arrive, we were in August and November and for us there were two completely different experiences.
Dead Sea mushrooms – depending on when you arrive
Perfect in November
We arrived around sunset – just according to the recommendations of millions of websites and Instagram accounts, we settled by on the beach, opened a Pakal coffee and picnic and spent time there almost to complete darkness.
The turquoise, clear transparent water colors blended with the pink sky – it felt like heaven on earth.
The pictures are spectacular and indeed so in reality – the Dead Sea mushrooms are an amazing location for photography, feeling of special nature, so unusual.
Outside it was a bit chilly and the water was nice warm a kind of huge Jacuzzi of the Dead Sea, we spent two or three hours of fun with friends. We had fun and magic time, a very corrective experience for the last time we visited the place a few months earlier.
In *August*
Just don’t. Don’t do it to yourself
We could barely find them, the mushrooms were hidden in the water and you can hardly see them from a distance.
It was 43 degrees outside and the water 38 degrees – and there is no shade.
I will point out and say again, the beach is not regulated – there is no fresh water to wash with after the dip and not to forget that you are covered in the sebum of the water. The pictures came out very beautiful that day and really didn’t seem to reflect the half hour of suffering in the place.
Looking at the pictures, from our two visits to the place, I noticed the fundamental changes of the mushrooms
In August the Dead Sea mushrooms were underwater and in November they stood out. It may really be related to the months of the year, but it is impossible to ignore the issue that hovers over the Dead Sea, and that is the issue of its drying up.
**March 2023 Update
It turned out that we spontaneously traveled to the Dead Sea area very recently in March 2023. We took a zimmer (B&B) in Neve Zohar located in the southern part of the Dead Sea and almost every trip we went on (not much) north.
On one of our trips, we stopped at Dead Sea Mushrooms and were disappointed a lot. The mushrooms are very dry, apparently they are renovating there and building a promenade, and this comes at the expense of the mushrooms.
Still worth checking out because really it’s a 5 minute drive from Highway 90 and not a big detour but as of last time – a big disappointment.
Hence the question, how are Dead Sea mushrooms formed?
They are made of a huge amount of salt that accumulates and over time creates the shape of the mushrooms we know.
They stick out of the water because the Dead Sea dries up so much that paths (the mushrooms) and stones that were once underwater now stick out, giving us a photogenic opportunity for Insta.
When we visited near the cliffs of Dragot, we heard stories about how the Dead Sea Works in the area built or “helped nature build” these mushrooms by placing surfaces underwater, which over the years the salt formation on them created the mushrooms, all in order to divert attention from the damage caused by the factories to the environment, to nature (mushrooms) next to them.
Some say that in 50 years the Dead Sea will disappear, dry up to death, as its name implies.
A point to think about
Important tips before arriving at Dead Sea mushrooms
- It is recommended to come with a closed shoe / sea shoes / sandals – the salt bottom is unpleasant to the touch, it is sharp and wounds and with flip-flops you will float and it will be uncomfortable.
- You should bring a fair amount of fresh water with you, drinking water and water to wash yourself after bathing in the sea
- If you have a parasol for the hot summer days, it is recommended to bring it with you
- Waterproof shield for cell phone – I’ll look for a link from Eli and attach
- Bring sunscreen – very important, you don’t pay attention and with the salt and water you burn instantly
- Arrive with a garbage bag and collect some of the dirt left by you&others around
- I recommend looking at theDead Sea website – beyond the fact that they bombarded the design of the site, you can find more information there.
