A Yurt with a View of Ramon Crater, and the Table Around It: Alpaca Farm, Mitzpe Ramon
A yurt with a view of Ramon Crater at Alpaca Farm in Mitzpe Ramon comes with a kitchen close at hand. The yurt complex has a large, fully equipped kitchen for cooking your own meals, benches and seating areas out in the open, fire corners for the evening, and tea made from fresh herbs grown in our garden. We are a small family farm in the Negev highlands, raising alpacas for their wool since 1987, and we invite you to slow down: cook something simple, sit under the pergola at your yurt’s entrance and let the crater do the rest. What follows is what gets cooked here, what gets poured, what the alpacas eat, and how it all looks from one of ten Mongolian yurts.
A big, well-equipped kitchen: cooking for yourselves in the desert
The kitchen in the yurt complex is large and fully equipped, set up for self-catering by individuals and by groups of up to fifty people. Each kitchen has a household-size fridge plus cooking and kitchen utensils, so you can arrive with full grocery bags and make a proper meal, on your own schedule. Benches and seating areas are scattered through the complex, the kind of spots where you sit with a plate on your knees and see no reason to hurry.
There are fire corners in the evening, and one boundary worth knowing in advance: barbecues are not allowed, and no meat is grilled over an open flame in the shared areas. The fire here is for sitting, warmth and conversation. Dinner gets made in the kitchen.
Garden tea, coffee and something cold: what is poured on the farm
The farm has a coffee and tea corner, and the tea is made from fresh tea herbs from our own garden. On visiting days the farm sells soft drinks, hot drinks and ice lollies, and the farm’s stone cabin is a place to rest with a drink or an ice cream when the sun is high.
If you would rather bring food from home, you are welcome to sit in any of the shaded seating corners. The cabin itself has tables in an enclosed room and two shaded pergolas, so even on a hot day you can stop for a long hour rather than a quick cup.
If you are planning a picnic with a llama, know that the farm does not supply picnic food, so bring your own groceries. The activity is arranged in advance with the farm office, and the llamas cannot be ridden.
A yurt with a view of Ramon Crater: where you sit with a cup in hand
Our yurts are Mongolian yurts, ten in all, each one roomy at about thirty square metres and suited to two to five guests. The yurts look out toward Ramon Crater, and the entrance to each opens onto a pleasant pergola and a private seating nook, a natural spot for the morning tea or the evening glass. There is also a shaded porch, and hammocks outside.
Inside, the beds are made and towels are provided, with good mattresses, air conditioning that both cools and heats, and warm lighting. Each yurt has its own toilet and sink, and the complex has nine private shower stalls.
For those travelling together, the yurt village suits groups of up to fifty. At the heart of the complex stands the geodesic dome, a space for gathering and movement, alongside a large studio for practice.
A wine and cheese evening, a fire and a dark sky
One of the evenings the farm offers is built around a table: local boutique cheeses, Israeli boutique wines and a campfire. For those who want to stay out with the night, there is guided stargazing with professional telescopes and explanations of the celestial bodies overhead.
It suits the place. Ramon Crater, about seven minutes’ drive from the farm, is an international dark-sky nature reserve, the first in the Middle East, and the largest of the Negev’s craters. Several easy walking trails lead from the farm to viewpoints, and the open land around gives you real quiet for watching the sunset.
By day you can go a little further. The Ammonite Wall is about 15 minutes by car, the Minsara about a quarter of an hour, Nahal Havarim and Bor Hemet about 25 minutes each, and the Luz Cisterns and the Western Border Road about forty minutes each.
What the alpacas eat: feeding from the palm of your hand
The alpacas have a menu too, and it is served from your palm. Every visitor receives a feed bag as part of the entrance ticket, and extra bags cost 5 ₪. The farm is home to around 250 animals, among them alpacas, llamas, goats, horses, donkeys, ducks and a camel, and children are welcome to feed them, pet them and take a selfie. Guests of the farm receive a 10% discount on activities.
Before you pack: terms worth knowing
On weekends and holidays the minimum booking is two nights. Payment is made at check-out, and American Express is not accepted. Camping is not possible, so lodging is only in the farm’s accommodation areas, and dogs and other animals cannot come with you. There is no amplified music, though calm instrumental music is possible, which leaves the Negev quiet intact.
For details and to book a stay, call 08-658-8047 or write to [email protected]. We are here, and the table is waiting.
Frequently asked questions
Can you really see Ramon Crater from the yurts at Alpaca Farm?
Yes, the yurts at Alpaca Farm in Mitzpe Ramon look out toward Ramon Crater. The crater itself is about seven minutes’ drive from the farm, and it is the largest of the Negev’s craters.
Can we cook for ourselves when staying in a yurt?
Yes. The yurt complex has a large, fully equipped kitchen for self-catering, for individuals or groups of up to 50, and each kitchen has a household-size fridge plus cooking utensils. Bring whatever groceries you want to prepare.
Can we light a barbecue next to the yurt?
No. Barbecues and grilling meat over an open flame are not allowed in the farm’s shared areas. The complex has fire corners, and cooking is done in the kitchen.
How many people sleep in a yurt and what is inside?
A yurt at Alpaca Farm suits two to five guests and measures about thirty square metres. It has made beds, towels, air conditioning for heating and cooling, a private toilet and sink, a pergola at the entrance and hammocks outside.
What are the check-in and check-out times?
Check-in is between 15:00 and 19:00, and check-out is by 11:00 on the day of departure.
Do children pay for lodging, and can we get a cot?
Lodging is charged for children from age two inclusive, and children under two enter the farm free of charge. A cot for a baby is available on request.
What are the farm’s visiting hours?
The farm is open to visitors Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 09:00 to 18:00, and Sunday from 09:00 to 16:30. During school holidays it is open every day, and on winter time it closes at 16:30. The last entry is half an hour before closing.
