South of Mitzpe Ramon the Negev stops pretending to be a place of towns and becomes pure geography. This is high desert, around the edge of the great Ramon Crater, a vast erosion valley some forty kilometres long, which geologists call a makhtesh and which exists in only a handful of places in the world. From the lip you look down into a shallow bowl of coloured rock, ochre, black and cream, and the quiet is unusual. At night, the stars here are some of the best you will see anywhere in the Middle East.
The ride across this country is straightforward and stark. The roads are well made and often empty, long grades dropping toward the rift valley of the Arava, and the pace is controlled by the wind, the heat and your fuel. Mitzpe Ramon, twenty kilometres north, is a small town of under five thousand with a few stations and cafes, and then there is very little for a long stretch, so fill up and carry water. In summer, midday is brutal and the tarmac gets very hot, and in winter, the first rains can send flash floods down the wadis. The best months are March to May and October to November.
The old trade routes cut through here. The Nabataeans moved frankincense and myrrh from Arabia toward the Mediterranean along the Incense Route, and their caravan towns, such as Avdat and Mamshit, still stand as ruins in the hills, along with desert wells and way stations. Bedouin tents and herds of goats are a common sight beside the road, and ibex, hyrax and desert hares live in the wadis.
From here the ride leads toward the Wadi Rum protected area in southern Jordan, one of the most famous deserts anywhere. That means a border crossing in the Arava Valley near Eilat and Aqaba, which can take time, so check the hours and the paperwork for a vehicle well in advance. Pack sunscreen, a hat, and plenty of water.