page_title: Eilat
section_title: Tourism
hierarchical_section_title: Eilat / Economy / Tourism
caption_attribution_description: English: Sports Center at Eilat Israel. Designed by Bodek Achitects
context_page_description: Eilat, or Umm Al-Rashrash sometimes in Arabic, is Israel's southernmost city with a population of 51,935, a busy port and popular resort at the northern tip of the Red Sea, on what is known in Israel as the Gulf of Eilat and in Jordan as the Gulf of Aqaba. The city is considered a tourist destination for domestic and international tourists heading to Israel.
  Eilat is part of the Southern Negev Desert, at the southern end of the Arabah, adjacent to the Egyptian village of Taba to the south, the Jordanian port city of Aqaba to the east, and within sight of Haql, Saudi Arabia, across the gulf to the southeast.
  Eilat's arid desert climate and low humidity are moderated by proximity to a warm sea. Temperatures often exceed 40 °C in summer, and 21 °C in winter, while water temperatures range between 20 and 26 °C. Eilat averages 360 sunny days a year.
context_section_description: Eilat offers a wide range of accommodations, from hostels and luxury hotels to Bedouin hospitality. In recent years Eilat has been the target of militants from Egypt and Gaza causing a reduced tourist inflow to the region. Attractions include:
  Birdwatching and ringing station: Eilat is located on the main migration route between Africa and Europe. International Birding & Research Center in Eilat.
  Camel tours
  Coral Beach Nature Reserve, an underwater marine reserve of tropical marine flora and fauna
  Coral World Underwater Observatory, located at the southern tip of Coral Beach, it has aquaria, a museum, simulation rides, and shark, turtle, and stingray tanks. The observatory is the biggest public aquarium in the Middle East.
  Dolphin Reef, a marine biology and research station where visitors can swim and interact with dolphins
  Freefall parachuting.
  Yotvata Hai-Bar Nature Reserve, established in the 1960s to conserve  endangered species, including Biblical animals, from this and similar regions. The reserve has a visitors' center, care and treatment enclosures, and large open area where desert animals are acclimated before re-introduction into the wild. Hai-Bar efforts have successfully re-introduced the Asian wild ass, or onager, into the Negev. The Hai-Bar Nature Reserve and animal re-introduction program were described in Bill Clark's book "High Hills and Wild Goats: Life Among the Animals of the Hai-Bar Wildlife Refuge". The book also describes life in Eilat and the surrounding area.
  Marina, with some 250 yacht berths
  Timna Valley Park, the oldest copper mines in the world; Egyptian temple of Hathor, King Solomon's Pillars sandstone formation, ancient pit mines and rock art
  "What's Up", a portable astronomical observatory with programs in the desert and on the promenade
  Ice Mall, ice skating rink and shopping mall
caption: Eilat Sports Center, a $3 million project, was completed in 2013.
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