Eagles at Gamla by Flickr user karen horton

High in the remote Golan Heights region of Northern Israel lies the Gamla Nature Reserve, a magical place where eagles nest, archaeological ruins lie, and breathtaking views just take your breath away! Whether you have half an hour in a hectic itinerary or can spare an entire day, Gamla is somewhere for lovers of nature, history, and hiking.

The main course, served to the visitor some 600 yards from the entrance, is to watch the huge vultures that nest there, undoubtedly the reserve’s major live attraction. The Vulture Trail leads from the main gate to the bird-watching post at the head of the cliff. The trail is wheelchair accessible, and from the post you can watch the birds soaring nobly on the air streams.

Close up of an eagle at Gamla by Flickr user asafantman

The reserve has about 80 vultures, which is quite a lot. Considering their size – some ten feet on average – you won’t even need binoculars. If you move a bit away from the entrance and keep silent, the vultures are likely to hover over your heads. It’s an amazing experience: A huge shadow approaches, the vulture looks down from above, and you can almost see the whites of his eyes. Vultures eat the carcasses of dead animals, so most of you have nothing to fear.

A walk on the circular Vulture Trail also provides an impressive observation point where you can see the mountain of Gamla. You can descend from the bird-watching post in the direction of the site on the steep, well-marked “ancient path.” This isn’t a long walk (about a mile and a quarter there and back), but the route of the path requires at least an hour and a half.

Gamla's green landscape by Flickr user ldjaffe

The trail ends at ancient Gamla. This place sounds like the northern brother of Massada: Here, too, a battle took place against the Romans, and here, too, the people committed mass suicide to avoid falling into the hands of the enemy.

The Gamla Waterfall by Flickr user Nir Nussbaum

If you prefer to exchange the somber atmosphere of Gamla for a somewhat more pastoral experience, you can continue from the Vulture Trail to the waterfall, a 45-minute walk from the entrance (an hour and a half both ways). Along the trail there are dolmans, stone structures in the shape of a table whose purpose no one is sure of.

Ancient tombs? Ritual platforms? Alien footprints? You can think about each of these possibilities while walking, and forget them all when you reach the Gamla waterfall.

The 170-foot waterfall has been crowned “the highest flowing waterfall in Israel.” Considering Israel’s climate, this is perhaps a dubious title, but it is certainly an impressive sight: a delicate flow of water breaks in the air into thousands of droplets that commit suicide by jumping into the pool below.

A somewhat more challenging trail leaves from the entrance to the nature reserve and continues to the Daliot parking lot, where you can leave your car. Alternatively, you can return to the entrance by the same trail (about four hours round trip). Most of the walk is level, other than the descent and the ascent to Nahal Bazelet, which is now flowing in its full glory. A nice lookout point for the Bazelet waterfall lets you check off the nahal viewing department.

Alongside the trail are side dishes like almond trees wearing wedding gowns, lupines, and dozens of other colorful and aromatic flowers that only real tour guides know how to identify, but everyone can enjoy.

Visiting Gamla

From the road around the Sea of Galilee, take the Gamla junction-Daliyot junction road (no. 869) and turn north for about 2 km to the sign-posted turnoff to the reserve.

Opening Hours: 8 A.M.–5 P.M. October-March: 8 A.M.–4 P.M. Last entry to site one hour before above closing hour.

Phone: 04-682-2282/3

Entrance fee: Adult: NIS 25; child: NIS 13; Israeli senior citizens: 50% discount; Group rate: Adult: NIS 21; child: NIS 12

Official website: http://www.parks.org.il/BuildaGate5/general2/data_card.php?Cat=~25~~386746842~Card12~&ru=&SiteName=parks&Clt=&Bur=960426286

Article includes quotes from Ynet

The trail is a fantastic idea! A way of combining the religion and history of the Galilee with its stunning landscapes in an active way. It is perfect not only for Christians on pilgramage but anyone else who wants a hiking route!

Tour Guide Moaz Inon who planned the trail said “we believe by hiking and walking the trail, you will be able to meet and interact with the multicultural nature of the people that are living in the Galilee today”.

ABC News have run a story on the trail, and here are some of the places they most liked.

Our first stop on the trail was the ancient Roman city of Sephoris. It was the main local town in Jesus’ day, as well as the headquarters of the local Roman government. Jesus would have been a regular visitor and some now think he may even have worked in the town as a carpenter.

Then we came to Cana, the location for Jesus’ first miracle, the turning of water into wine at the wedding in Cana mentioned in John’s gospel.

The trail winds through the narrow streets and alleys marked by special yellow and white markings.

Further on we came to the Horns of Hittin, a famous topographical landmark. This time no biblical reference, but the very spot where, in 1187, the famous Muslim military leader Salahaddin defeated the Crusaders, signalling a bloody end to the Second Crusade.

From this dramatic high ground, there are breathtaking views down to the Sea of Galilee. When I walked the trail, it was warm and I was grateful for the cooling breeze. I wouldn’t recommend it for July and August.

The trail’s organizers hope for 5,000 visitors this year, but more than 100,000 a year within the next decade. They have already had hundreds of walkers, and e-mails from across the world are streaming in with inquiries.

When the final stretch of the trail hits the shoreline of the Sea of Galilee, you start coming across some of the most famous places in Jesus’ ministry. On a hill above the sea, the Mount of Beatitudes marks the spot where Jesus delivered the famous Sermon on the Mount.

Several hundred yards below lies Tabgha, where the gospels of Mark and Matthew tell the parable of the loaves and the fish, and the feeding of the 500.

Guiding me along the route was researcher Anna Dintaman, who is busy writing a guide for the trail. She knows the trail better than anyone, which she says gives her a special insight.

“Even when you come on a tour bus, you still feel it’s the biblical Disneyland or something; but when you’re walking and see there’s real people living, there’s real agriculture, real business, I think that puts you in touch with the reality of the history,” she said.

The trail finishes at Caperneum on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. When I finally got there, the sun was setting and it was difficult not to be affected by the beauty of the landscape. Whatever the strength of your religious belief, the Jesus Trail is a fascinating tour of this part of the Holy Land; just remember, don’t try it in the summer.

The trail sounds great and as soon as we get a chance to visit, we’ll post more on the site. The site of the trail with route details and more information is: www.jesustrail.com

If you have any experience of the trail, questions or any other comments let us know either by posting a reply to this post or sending an email.

Breathtaking passes in the north of the country by Flickr user Or Hiltch

The Israel National Trail runs from Kibbutz Dan, near the border with Lebanon in the Upper Galilee, to Eilat in the far south of the country. Split into stages, there are places to stop and stay along the way.

How you approach the trail is totally up to you. You could do just one stage or a part of a stage, or the whole thing which will take at least three weeks to complete.

The Trail isn’t just for walkers though, parts are suitable for off-road vehicles, as well as bikes- the Israel National Bike Trail is currently under construction.

For a keen hiker, though, there really is no better way to comnbine your hobby and seeing Israel. You could take days off and see other sites. But the sights you will get on your hikes are perhaps just as spectacular. You’ll be walking through the hills that Biblical characters traversed thousands of years ago. Peace will be broken with the noise of water as you reach a small stream and the sounds of humanity as you reach rural agricultural communities.

You never know what turning the corner will bring by Flickr user YehudaCo

As you reach the center of the country, the greater density of population will be clear, but the contrast between that and some of the beauty spots you walk through will seem so stark. So close to the hustle and bustle you will often be walking through trails that not even many locals know. You will be experiencing Israel’s stunning nature and beauty.

And breathtaking views by Flickr user Copper Kettle

Soon, moving southwards, population will peter out again, and another contrast will become clear. The green hills of the north, which made way for the flat fertile coastal plain of the center, will contrast with the barren desert landscape of the south. A fairly harsh environment, water and supplies need to be carefully planned. Beauty, however, doesn’t contrast, and the Negev landscape is just as stunning. It really is, beyond words.

You can do the trail in either direction, although North to South means you finish in Eilat, ready for a rest in luxury. There are loads of practicalities to be taken into account before hiking the trail, and a great website which talks about these, as well as giving more information on the Trail, is www.israelnationaltrail.com.

Forested paths at Gilboa by Flickr user yxejamir

Mount Gilboa, located in the Lower Galilee region, south of the Sea of Galilee is one of Israel’s most beautiful spots. Whilst spring saturates the Mountains in pretty wildflowers, no matter what the season, Gilboa is a stunning, tranquil area to explore, offering a break from the intense summer heat with a cool breeze. The Gilboa Scenic Road is your access point into this array of hikes, viewpoints, picnic sites, bike paths, and stunning outlooks, and is a great path to follow when exploring the area.

View across the Lower Galilee by Flickr user Yo-Yos

Gilboa Scenic Road

You can enter the Scenic Route by turning onto Road 667 from the Jordan Valley Highway (90). This description, however, begins at the opposite end: Take Highway 60 from Afula and turn left (east) at the Yizre’el Junction onto Road 675. Turn right at the sign for Road 667, the Gilboa Scenic Route.

You are now climbing the Gilboa Ridge, which is 18 kilometers long and juts out from the northern side of the Samarian Mountains. Its proximity to the Syrian African Rift created steep cliffs on the Gilboa’s northern and eastern sides, over the Harod and Beit She’an Valleys, and at their tallest height they reach 650 meters above sea level. Prepare to immerse yourself in the past: The entire route follows mountain peaks and overlooks whose names are connected with biblical events.

Pass (or stop in at) the Nurit Picnic Site. In the 1950s, this area became a makeshift community (ma’abara) for Yemenite immigrants given jobs planting trees on the Gilboa and working in the area’s quarries.

Drive on a bit further to reach the top of Mount Shaul (Saul), 302 meters above sea level and jutting from the rest of the ridge. Follow the asphalt road to a short, circular Bible Trail. Slightly overgrown with dry weeds and neglected at the moment, it is lined with rather illegible Hebrew plaques that describe the biblical events that have taken place on or near the Gilboa.

Fortunately, this route has other attractions; at a break in the pine forest through which you are walking, a “window” seems to open onto a very special view of the Gilboa dropping sharply down to the valley, and of the valley itself. Part of the mountain is completely bare, the only foliage being forests planted by the JNF. Could this be a result of David’s curse?

Biblical names associated with battles are everywhere. To the north you can see Givat Hamoreh, on whose foothills the Philistines camped before going to battle with Saul – and whose adjacent valley housed the Midianites before they were routed by Gideon. Beyond Givat Hamoreh, you can make out the tip of Mount Tabor (Barak and the prophetess Deborah). The Heights of Issachar, who fought with Barak, are to the east, while the upper Jezreel Valley is spread out before you to the west.

Recreation

Mount Shaul has become extremely popular with Israeli hang-gliders. If you come up on a weekend, you can watch as sports enthusiasts take off from the mountain top and glide gracefully over the valley like the birds of prey that once lived in the cliffs.

Back on the road, it isn’t far to Ketef Shaul (Saul’s Shoulder), the Scenic Route’s main recreation area. It features picnic tables adapted to wheelchairs, playgrounds and an accessible trail to a lovely lookout.

After your picnic, continue along the route to the Vinya Overlook on your left. Turn in and take the bumpy (but passable) road to two balconies in a lush grove. Reuven Vinya Cohen was active in the JNF, and he was one of the founders of Ein Harod, visible below – along with sparkling fishponds and colorful fields. Follow the road to the end, turn right, and you will find yourself back on the Scenic Route.

A trick hike

Continue along the route and, if you have two cars and are very fit, you can take a difficult red-marked trail that leads to Ein Hasamal (the sergeant’s spring). The “samal” in question was Moshe Rosenfeld, a remarkable Jewish policeman under the British Mandate who patrolled this area with two Arab underlings. One day in late 1935, while following a trail of grapefruit peels from fruit stolen out of Jewish fields, Rosenfeld was ambushed near a spring and killed by terrorists. He is considered to have been the first victim of bloody Arab riots that lasted from 1936 to 1939.

In those early years, when the Palmah was organizing units in the area so that farmers could defend themselves, members needed a place to train. But the British had a camp in the wadi, where the Shata Prison stands today. Searching for the right venue, they happened upon a valley completely hidden from prying eyes.

But how were they to practice weaponry without being heard? Nearby, there was a Jewish-owned quarry that presented the Palmah commanders with the answer – and timetable. Troops practiced shooting when there was drilling at the quarry: When rocks were blasted with explosives, they tried out hand grenades.

The steep trail is for good hikers only, for near the bottom the descent becomes very difficult to maneuver. During your hike, you pass the now-dry spring and begin descending toward the Hidden Valley. Your second car should be waiting below the Gilboa at Old Tel Yosef.

If you didn’t do the hike, keep going on the scenic route to reach Mount Barkan, where a far easier, hour-long circular peak trail gives you an excellent view of Nablus and the Jenin Valley. Take the path from the JNF tower.

Iris Nature Reserve

Back on the road, you will soon reach the Gilboa Iris Nature Reserve. It is dry in summer, but from here you can take a path that leads all the way to the watchtower at Mount Barkan (you can see it from the reserve). If you return in spring, you can take a circular path through the reserve to enjoy the sight of these exquisite flowers. They commonly appear in numerous shades of purple and, in rare cases, other colors as well.

Today, it is simply the Avinadav Recreation Area, with sparse-leafed olive trees that don’t provide much shade and deep green carobs that do. Trails are several hundred meters long and parallel to the cliff. These paths, like that which leads to the edge of the mountain, offer a stupendous view of the Beit She’an Valley, the Gilead Mountains and the gleaming pools below. In season, this spot is a wonderland of cyclamen and other brilliant flowers.

Because we call it the Gilboa iris, you would think that this is the only spot on which it can be found. Actually, it also grows in the Judean Desert and near Ein Gev – but in much smaller quantities. Some people claim that this is not the Gilboa iris’s natural setting. Indeed, they say, the iris was first planted in Arab cemeteries long ago and only later reached the reserve.

Only a few dozen meters down the road, on your left, there is a marvelous overlook named for Paltiel Sela. Park next to the sign, then walk about 400 meters in the shady forest. When you see a stone picnic table up the hill and to your right, you will have reached the lookout. Climb up for a terrific view. I read somewhere that after the War of Independence, Arabs destroyed the monument to Moshe Rosenfeld at Ein Hasamal; Sela, who worked for the Nature Reserves Authority, got a group of young people together that reconstructed the memorial and cleaned up the spring.

Dubi Shamir, born and raised in the Beit She’an Valley, fell in the line of duty on April 4, 1977. His son Eran, a toddler of two at the time of his father’s death, was killed during a battle in Lebanon exactly 20 years and one month later. Both were nature lovers who were steeped in the history of this land, admired its heroes and found immense pleasure in her landscapes. How fitting, then, that a stirring monument to their memory stands on the heights of the biblical Mount Gilboa and offers spectacular views of the countryside.

Last year, some kind of bug or bacterium hit the nearby Iris Reserve and there were very few flowers to be seen. Here at the Dubi and Eran Overlook, however, they appeared in all their glory.

As you walk to the top, stop to read the poems inscribed in stones that line the path. You will recognize at least some of them, for they have been put to music and become popular songs about the Gilboa and the Jezreel Valley.

Built by new immigrants from Russia and Ethiopia employed by the JNF during the early 1990s, the last recreation area on the route once boasted a contraption that created the sound of windpipes and was called the Mount Avinadav Wind Flute Recreation Area.

Excerps: JPost

Relaxing in the park

The Hiriya is a 60 meter high mound of waste. It is the first sight, and smell, many tourists have upon entering Israel, being next to Ben Gurion Airport. Thankfully, the landfill is now closed, and the mound is being converted into the centerpiece of the new Ariel Sharon Park, set to be the largest new urban park built in the last century in the world. Bigger than Central Park in New York, the Ariel Sharon Park is currently open in a limited format, and will be opened in stages until its completion in 2020.

At present the walking and cycling trails, recreational pond, tiny zoo and picnic areas of the western section, Menachem Begin Park, are open, as well as a recycling center for which tours must be booked (for groups only +03-739663)

A green lung

Hiria recycling park is one of the largest facilities of its kind in the world. On a tour of the park you can see landfill rehabilitation at its best: One facility utilizes biological sub-systems to reduce the weight of municipal waste by more than 90% and produce bio-gas to create electricity, recovering glass and metal in the process. Methane gas recovery from the mound is a means for Hiria to earn part of its development funding (the rest is through contributions and matching government funds); the gas is sold and piped to a nearby textile factory.

This year a recycling plant for tires; another for building material and yet another that turns plant prunings into ground cover that Israelis are encouraged to use instead of water-guzzling grass.

Bike trails

The carefully tended garden near the visitor center is no ordinary flower bed. Aquatic beauties like water lilies, papyrus and other species sprout from a very special mini-wetland: a self-sustaining system that treats sewage with the help of bacteria flourishing on the roots of the plants. The micro-organisms break down toxins in water siphoned off from daily arriving municipal refuse and from the Hiria mound. This process purifies the water, which can then be used for irrigation.

At the visitor center, virtually everything (including the building itself – which was once a huge compost shed) is recycled: Furniture and accessories are made out of tires, cans and bottles, as is a gigantic, colorful ceiling fixture. Even the employees’ kitchen is a treasure-trove of found-object décor.  At lectures and workshops, visitors can learn here from the experts how to change behavior patterns to help protect and rejuvenate the environment.

And for the future

The mega 2,000 acre park will be a green lung in the center of Israel’s densely populated Coastal Plain serving not only the residents of Tel Aviv, but also the many neighboring cities. A proposed 50,000 seat amphitheatre will make the park a venue for concerts on an international scale, whilst the views from the top of the mound, and the ‘inner lung’ which will be created featuring special plants and a lake, will create a site which is more than one of just leisure, but an ecological masterpiece.

Park Website: www.ayalon-park.org.il/Eng

The Pope came to Israel in early 2009, and Nazareth was one of the areas given big government grants to improve its tourism infrastructure for this. As a result, Nazareth has been given a push back onto Israel’s tourism map – and with its importance as the childhood home of Jesus, as the largest Arab city in Israel, and its stunning location right in the middle of the Lower Galilee (about 15 miles west of the Sea of Galilee), that push shouldn’t really have been neccessary.

In the Old City

Nazareth’s Old City is most famous for its traditional shuk (Arabic for market) which attracts Israelis from across the country looking for traditional Arabic produce. This in itself is an experience, and a great contrast to the air-conditioned malls dotted around the country. For those interested in Christianity, the Old City and surrounds are filled with important Christian sites, including the Church of the Annunciation.

More off the beaten track in the Old City are two sites which are worth a visit if you are feeling in a historic and cultural mood…

The Nazareth Nuns’ Convent, located not far from the Church of Annunciation, is a totally unexpected, but very impressive archaeology site. The nuns, who arrived in Nazareth from France in 1855, purchased several stores in the market and started establishing the convent. During the building process, many archeological findings were uncovered, including a large hall with a big arch above it, catacombs, water cisterns, mosaics, an ancient church’s altar and a Jewish burial site believed to be from before the Second Temple period. The sisters also have a small museum exhibiting old coins and pottery. Tours of the subterranean site are by appointment only for groups, though.

The Synagogue Church, is according to Christian tradition, where Jesus studied and prayed. In addition, this is where he gave his famous sermon on Shabbat (Matthew 13, Mark 6, Luke 4) when he declared himself as the Messiah to his Jewish village members. This sermon infuriated the congregants and they allegedly dragged him to Mount Precipice planning to push him downhill, but he jumped and disappeared. Today, the Synagogue Church belongs to the Greek-Catholic community. According to historians, attributing this synagogue to the one where Jesus was praying is a late tradition that started after the Byzantine period: All early Jewish holy sites were destroyed by the Romans at the end of the Second Temple period, and most ancient Galilee synagogues are from the third to sixth century.

Architecture

Nazareth has an abundance of Ottoman era homes which have stunning frescoes – painted plaster walls and ceilings. Although not in the same condition as they were when they were constructed for wealthy merchants, many of these homes still have these impressive features which, if you want to, you can see by arranging a tour through the Nazareth Tourist Association.

In the area

The Jesus Trail is a newly opened walking route which traces the footsteps of Jesus from Nazareth to Capernaum. It is designed to take a few days to hike, although you could just do short stages. The beautiful marked trail is perfect whether or not you are interested in it for its religious meaning, as it offers fantastic scenery and newly made footpaths.

From leisurely strolls through to the Israel National Trail, a country-long hiking trail which runs from Kibbutz Dan in the North to Eilat in the South, and ‘themed’ trails such as the Jesus Trail in the Galilee, Israel is criss-crossed by hiking and walking trails for all ages, abilities, and motives.