Masada Snake Path: Sunrise Ascent to the Desert Fortress

Masada has two separate entrances that don’t link up: the eastern side, above the Dead Sea, is where the cable car and the Snake Path start; the western side, reached from Arad, is where the Roman siege ramp climbs a shorter, gentler route. There’s no road across the mountain between them — driving from one to the other takes over an hour around the site, so pick your entrance to match your plan before you set out, not after.

The Snake Path and the cable car both arrive at the same summit gate on the eastern side, so you don’t have to commit to the same method both ways. A common plan is to climb up in the cool of early morning and ride the cable car back down once the sun and the heat are up.

Rangers close the Snake Path to climbers once daytime heat makes the ascent dangerous, which in the hot months can mean well before midday — sunrise hikers should be starting in the dark, well before dawn, headlamp in hand, rather than treating first light as the start time.