Eilat (Hebrew: אילת) is Israel's southernmost city, a busy port as well as a popular tourist destination, located at the northern tip of the Red Sea, on the Gulf of Eilat. Home to 55,000 people, the city is part of the Southern Negev Desert, at the southern end of the Arava. The city is adjacent to the Egyptian village of Taba, to the south, and the Jordanian port city of Aqaba, to the east.

Eilat's semi-arid desert climate is moderated by proximity to a warm sea. Temperatures often exceed 40 °C in summer, and 18 °C in winter, while water temperatures range between 20 and 26 °C. The city's beaches, nightlife and desert landscapes make it a popular destination for domestic and international tourism.

Economy

Eilat's economy is based around leisure and tourism.

Tourism and Attractions

Coral World Underwater Observatory.

Eilat offers a wide range of accommodations - from hostels to luxury hotels - as well as many unique attractions and recreational options within a 50 kilometer (31 mile) radius.

• Bedouin hospitality.
• Birdwatching and ringing station: Eilat is located on the main migration route between Africa and Europe.
• Camel tours.
• Coral Beach Nature Reserve, an underwater marine reserve of tropical marine flora and fauna.
• Coral World Underwater Observatory - allows visitors to view marine life in its own habitat. The park, located at the southern tip of Coral Beach, has aquariums, a museum, simulation rides, and shark, turtle and stingray tanks.^[9]
• Diving: Skin and SCUBA diving, with equipment for hire on or near all major beaches. Scuba diving equipment rental and compressed air are available from a number of diving clubs and schools open all year round.
• Dolphin Reef, offering visitors an opportunity to swim and interact with dolphins, is also a marine biology and research station.^[10]
• Freefall parachuting.
• Hai-Bar Yotvata 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.^[11]

Capra ibex nubiana, a resident of Hai-Bar

• IMAX theatre.
• Kings City, a biblical theme park located in the hotel area next to the Stella Maris Lagoon.^[12]
• Marina with some 250 yacht berths.
• Timna Valley Park - the oldest copper mines in the world. Egyptian temple of Hathor, King Solomon's Pillars, ancient pit mines and rock art.^[13]
• "What's Up" the Observatory in Eilat, a portable Astronomical Observatory with programs in the desert as well as on the promenade.