Harbat Pura Nature Reserve is a small nature reserve in Israel. The reserve is in the northern Negev, near the Mahez interchange on the Kiryat Gat-Beit Kama road. The reserve has rich and unique blooms in late winter early spring (primarily from February to March).[1][2]
The Pura natural reserve is home to plants of Mediterranean origin and plants of desert origin. The reserve was fenced off in the 1960s and has not been damaged by grazing. The site has limestone chalk rocks from the Eocene period. Plants in the reserve include common anemone, bulb, poppy seeds, large chives, iris artzisraeli, bull's tongue, field rattan, kalach, Shimshon Hador, Akkanai Yehuda, beekeeper and dudaim. Also in the reserve are Rotem bushes, saltwater and wormwood and herbaceous vinca plants, hollow chives, fragrant sage and common sage.
The natural reserve covers an area of 12 dunams in the bed of a fertile stream, a tributary of the Shikma River. In 2007, the area of the reserve was increased by 283 dunams. The reserve is named after the Pura ruin located on its western border. In winter, floodwater is stored in the reserve with the help of a dam, and a seasonal lake is formed. The destroyed Shikma River Bridge is located in the park. This bridge is a remnant of the Turkish railway that was built during World War I from Tulkarm to Be'er Sheva, and from there to Kosima in the Sinai Peninsula. The bridge was destroyed in floods in the 1970s. In recent years, the reserve has grown to be known for its red anemone carpets, which have multiplied and expanded in the first decade of the 21st century, and is included in the Darom Adom Festival held every winter in February in the western Negev.
