Accommodations and Food Across from the Makhtesh Ramon visitors’ center is the Mitzpeh Ramon Youth Hostel (HI) (tel. 58 84 43 or fax 58 80 74), one of Israel’s best hostels. It rests on the rim of the canyon and is conveniently close to the crater promenade. The rooms are spacious and immaculate, all with toilets and showers. There are classrooms, a TV room, and, of course, a disco in the bomb shelter. Reception officially open 4^>pm, but someone is usually there. Tap on the door if it’s locked. No kitchen facilities and no curfew. Checkout 9am. (Dorm beds with six per room NIS44, triples NIS53 and doubles NISI 18. Members less NIS3 per night. Large breakfast included.) Kosher lunch and dinner are available for NIS20 (Fri. NIS22) in the roomy, comfortable dining room.

The cheapest accommodations in the area are the flats rented out by The Art Colony, 6 Mahle haDkalim St. (tel. 58 89 50 or 58 89 33). From the visitors’ center walk down the street to your right, make a right at the swimming pool; turn left at the pedestrian lane, Mahle haDkalim, at the white stucco synagogue on the corner; the guest house is the sixth building on the right. The rooms are furnished with modern paintings and carpeting and all come with kitchens and bathrooms. (3-bed-room flat for 10, NIS150.) Another relatively inexpensive place to stay is the hostel in the field school (tel. 58 86 15/6), which has clean rooms and a kitchen, although the long walk from town makes it a bit inconvenient. The hostel is often filled with school groups so call ahead. Office hours are 8am-5:3Opm. Dorm beds (6 per room) N1S140. Breakfast NIS14, meat meal NS26.

For a taste of desert living there’s Succah in the Desert (tel. 58 62 80; mailing address P.O. Box 272, Mitzpeh-Ramon 80600). Seven kilometers outside of town is a sprawled constellation of twelve sukkot, temporary desert shelters with ancient origins. A sukkah can be rented for NIS160 and sleeps several people; a big tent with carpets and pillows is NIS100. The sukkot are beautiful structures made of stones and dried palm leaves; the interiors are rich with tapestries and rugs and incorporate desert features to make rock platforms for sleeping or sitting. Vegetarian dinner costs NIS25. If you seem poor enough they might give you a discount.

If you walk “into town,” along the road to your right as you walk down the steps of the visitors’ center, you’ll stumble upon Ramon’s Restaurant (tel. 58 81 58) where sandwiches go for NIS5-6 and full meals with meat, rice, fries, and fruit for N1S17-20. Much better than you’d expect from a restaurant connected to a gas station, Ramon’s offers a snack bar, comfortable indoor eating, and a large, covered outside eating area. It’s usually either packed with soldiers or totally deserted. (Open Sun.-Thurs. 5am-8pm, Fri. 5am-4:3Opm.) Pub haHaveet, Mitzpeh Ramon’s only night spot, is in the shopping center across the street. (Attracts soldiers, backpackers and local youth. Must be 18 or older. Beer NIS5. Open nightly 7pm-l or 2am.) Next door are two falafel cafes. From 7am-ll or 12pm, you can take your shwarma or falafel outside on the mini-mall veranda and listen to rock, reggae, Israeli folk, and even Lucinda Williams blaring from Pub Harvest.