Hidden desert oasis: Unexpected memorial pool honoring fallen soldier nestled in Judean Desert

Koby Peled, an Israeli travel blogger known online as ”Kuku trip,” decided to visit a remote basin in the Judean Desert located between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea. A memorial initiative for the late IDF soldier Sgt. Yehuda Peretz, transformed the dry area located close to the Israeli community of Maale Michmash into an attractive natural-style pool with surrounding trees and benches. 

“The pool sits in a tiny channel beneath Mitzpe Dani, between Nahal Michmash and Nahal Prat,” Peled said in an interview with the news outlet Ynet News. “It’s an unnamed stream, and the closest wadi to it is Nahal Makuch. It’s a chain of natural pools that nature carved into the rock over hundreds of thousands of years. When a rare flood hits, the pools fill with water, but in normal times and during droughts they stay dry,” he explained.

The travel blogger revealed that local residents decided to enhance the basin site with a water project in honor of Peretz who was getting married and was tragically killed in a car accident last year. 

“The locals wanted to commemorate a young man,” Peled said. “So they ran pipes down from the community above and channeled water into the pool,” he continued. 

“It’s a real pool, just dry. If a flood came, it would fill up. But this is a stream that carries water only once in a very long time. The locals simply made use of nature and filled a natural pool, so the water doesn’t seep into the ground and it becomes a beautiful natural-style basin.”

Peled described the arid natural surroundings:

“It’s a completely desert area, exactly what you imagine – yellow, dry, wide open. There’s a clean, narrow canyon, and suddenly there’s water. It’s a relatively large pool, and around it you see unexpected greenery in the middle of the desert. It’s surreal: you walk through the yellow desert, full of thorns and dry brush, and suddenly there are green trees. Seeing a tree in the middle of the desert is strange. Along with watering the trees, they added benches and created a small spot where you can sit out in nature."

The natural pool is increasingly attracting extreme jumpers. However, Peled urges visitors to observe basic safety rules. 

“Before jumping into any natural water source, I always get in carefully to check the depth,” he explained. “It’s important not to act recklessly. Some places don’t change, like big streams, but this is a new site, so I go in, take a dip, check the deeper points, look for rocks or any danger, and only then decide whether to jump. I also check if shoes are needed; sometimes there are rocks. Jumping with shoes is fine, but going barefoot can be trickier."

Yet, he believes the experience is ultimately rewarding. 

“The water is cold,” he said, smiling. “Not freezing, but very cold. Others may feel it even more. The contrast between the heat outside and the cold water is refreshing. Then you sit on a bench in the sun, warm up and dry quickly. It’s nice.”

Since the natural area is located beyond the Green Line in Judea and Samaria (West Bank), there is also a security dimension connected to visiting the basin.

Peled recommends that potential visitors stop and park at the nearby Mitzpe Dani community. 

“Before heading to the pool, the best place to start and park is Mitzpe Dani,” he revealed. “It’s close to the pool, the parking is inside the community, and soldiers maintain a visible security presence."

The Judean Desert has played a crucial role in ancient Jewish history. Overlooking the Dead Sea, the Masada Fortress was the scene of a dramatic Roman siege in 74 B.C.E. of Jewish rebels who hid up in the desert fortress.