Caving Spelunking (snapling & snepling) rappelling in Israel |
| In whole world it is called Caving Spelunking. However, in Israel it called "snApling or "snEpling". The word "Snapling" came from English "snap link" which is adopted in Israel as a name for canyoning, rappelling and caving. In other words "snapling" or "snepling" is everything related to tours with ropes or any action of rappelling - descending a mountain face by sliding down a rope.
"Snapling" sounds like an English pronounce and people in Israel usually don't aware that the word "snapling" doesn't really exists outside the country. So people in Israel are usually very surprised when tourists don't understand what they trying to explain. That was 10 seconds of semantics and now let's move to the real stuff – Caving, spelunking or maybe someone found another name for it… Ohhh! of course there is an another one: Speleology - study and exploration of caves.
That was 10 seconds of semantics and now when we know the terminology let's move to the real stuff! :-)
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According to the biblical legend, in the time of Sodom and Gomorra’s destruction, God has ordered Lot and his family to run and in any case not to look back. However, Lot’s wife as a real woman couldn’t hold her curiosity but when she looked back, she has immediately turned into a salt column.
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And to this day the salt pillar, reminding female body, can be seen in the southern tip of the Dead Sea – mount Sodom. This mount is very unique – it is consisted entirely from salt.
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For thousands of years the water has been dissolving the salt layers of the mountain. As a result, many caverns have been formed and among them the longest cave in the world – Malham with 5 km of underground passages!
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The journey into the salt depths is one of the most exciting adventures in the Dead Sea area. Fantastic stalactites, winding passages, huge wells up to 90 meters deep where sunlight is hardly seen. And all this magnificence, sparkling in the flashlight you need to pass climb through and crawl using the special speleo-equipment.
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Here also you can find a stone "library" of paleontological artifacts. A few minutes of simple digging will reveal the imprint of trilobite, seaweed and even fish! What a great souvenir to take back home!
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And it is so nice after the underground trip "to sit" in the dense salty water of the Dead Sea, enjoying crimson sunset and a cold beer!
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In the north of Israel there are also the limestone karstic caves popularly called "the Huta" (a whale's mouth). The locals tell that the inhabitants of the Arab villages have been throwing the hated tax collectors into these caves, but the historical evidence of those stories was never found.
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You will taste a bit of a true speleo-life: go down the rope some tens of meters deep underground, learn to pass the narrow passages and what we call "the skin rubber" passages, see for yourself the "female pleasure" stalagmites. You will also learn the rope climbing technique "Frog" and in the end you will come to the surface as fully trained speleologists! Deep in the mud, tired but happy!
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In the Jerusalem Heights, thoroughly hidden from curious eyes there are chalk caves, carved by Jewish rebels in the 2-nd century A.D. Fleeing from the persecution of the Roman legionaries, the rebels carved into the chalk rock literally the entire underground complex, with an extensive system of corridors, halls, rooms etc. For those, who like the easy and enjoyable underground trip this is the best choice!
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Speleo-tour duration takes from 6 to 10 hours depending on the complexity of the tour.
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There is a constant temperature in the caves all year round +24 +25C (75-77 Fahrenheit), so you can visit them at any time of the year.
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Information and tour Booking |
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