Kfar Hanokdim to recharge your batteries and listen to the silence
If you’d like to discover the old Bedouin way of life in the region, there’s no better place than Kfar Hakodim! Just 15 minutes by road north of the city of Arad and a few kilometres from the Dead Sea, Kfar Hanokdim, founded in 1991, is an oasis in the middle of the desert.
Turn off your smartphone, take a break from social media and switch from work mode to leisure mode. Kfar Hanokdim is an ideal place to relax and disconnect from everyday stress.
Kfar Hakodim is an excellent spot for yoga and meditation fans. Nothing could be better than waking up in the middle of the desert surrounded by sand and camels.
Its creation and aimsju
When the Sinai Peninsula was no longer part of the Israeli border, there was a certain nostalgia among Israelis for its special atmosphere, the contact with primitive nature and with the desert inhabitants, the Bedouins. So the founder of Kfar Hanokdim, who loved the Sinai, thought that it might be possible to recreate the magic of the Sinai within the new Israeli border. He moved to the city of Arad with his family and set up Kfar Hanokdim near to the city.
The old traditional Bedouin way of life is disappearing, overtaken by modern western ways that are putting an end to the nomadic Bedouin way of life in the Negev desert. Cars replacing camels and donkeys, the loss of pasture for goats and sheep, new technology all contributed to a rise in unemployment and to the creation of jobs in agriculture, business and salaried work.
These jobs created the need for a fixed abode and so led to the progressive disappearance of nomadic life. Now the Negev Bedouin population is 200,000.
The Kfar Hanokdim site
When you go to Kfar Hanokdim you’ll take part in a life experience that will leave you with great memories. It involves travelling back in time to discover the way of life and the history of the region’s Bedouins, finding out about how to survive in the desert and the ecological and environmental challenges facing the population that lives there. Over a weekend, you’ll live like a Bedouin and enjoy drinking tea in the old way, you’ll eat typical Bedouin dishes.
You’ll meet real Bedouins there. You can take part in workshops offered by Kfar and sleep in Bedouin tents or bungalows/lodges. The bungalows are air conditioned, which is good at 40 in the shade. The bravest can sleep under the stars beneath a pollution free sky and watch shooting stars (we can assure you that this will add sparkle to your life).
Kfar Hanokdim’s attractions
During the day, what could be better than riding a camel in the area to the “cristal” valley. You can take part in activities such as driving a jeep or guided trips to the desert by day or night. From Kfar Hanokdim you’ll have the possibility to go to the imposing ancient town of Massada at dawn to admire the sunrise over the desert.
Excursions are organised by Kfar to the Dead Sea to discover the geological craters, to Beer-Sheva to meet Bedouins and understand their way of life and also to Eilat. We can also organise events for groups, work committees and companies to spend some days in a picture postcard setting in the Negev Desert.
When you leave Kfar Hanokdim, you’ll have recharged your batteries and will leave stress and anxiety behind you. Immersion in positive waves is the best possible way to recharge your batteries.
Kfar Hanokdim on Google Maps
How to get to Kfar Hanokdim and see the position of this paradise on Google Maps.