The Israel Trail travel route runs the length of Israel from north to south, and extends over 1,000 kilometers... This journey connected me to wonderful feelings of satisfaction, giving and a deep connection with nature, and through it, with our amazing country.
The long march, getting to know the wonderful people on the way, the possibility to walk on a marked path from beginning to end make for a wonderful sight and opportunity to observe life.
Many questions that arise during the march itself and also in looking after it, allow for personal investigation and deep learning about ourselves and the world:
There is certainty where you start and where you end. Where do I choose?
How is it correct to divide the walk into segments (learning while moving)?
When do I have a hard time?
Can I step out of my comfort zones? from them?
How am I constantly trying to improve?
Why do I choose to assume?
how do i walk
When do I choose to rest?
To me, this is a wonderful gift that I was able to realize. Go for it!
In the following article I invite you to my insights, my world view on the path and life following personal experiences.
How did a trip to Israel make me fall in love with Israel all over again?
My love story with nature in Israel begins when I was released from the army and decided to take a trip for Israel.
So, I got a lot of offers from every direction.
The world was open to me: I received offers for work, studies and trips...
This "flooding" confused me.
I didn't know what to choose.
Around me people started working
to study and plan their future…
The pace was too fast for me.
About a week before the release, they held a ceremony for us at the base, a ceremony to receive the release certificates, to which I arrived with many plans and detailed lists of dreams and also exact deadlines for when I would fulfill them. At the same time, I was confused by the transition from a held, clear and very tight frame to the big world open to me.
There, at the ceremony, I met my commander
He is as usual: stable, full of confidence and experience asked me:
"Ben, what are you going to do when you get free?"
I think he knew what I would answer him...
He smiled at me and said 3 short and sweet words: A trip for Israel.
I, a good and disciplined soldier, trusted him a lot throughout the military journey we shared together, and I took his advice.
Indeed, the day after being released from the IDF, I was ready with a travel bag in Kibbutz Dan, at the starting point of the Israel Trail in the north, preparing to walk south.
Together with three other friends from the army we set off.
The first days were not easy...
Look... I wasn't a natural child - I didn't grow up
In any youth movement
And the whole subject of walks and being in nature was very foreign to me.
I wasn't used to the equipment on my back, the weight and the intensity of walking (yes, even after the military service).
I didn't walk alone and the company definitely helped to deal with the challenges, but it posed challenges for itself: to take into account everyone's wishes, to stop for a rest even mine is not the best, to keep walking - what to eat? When to eat and live in nature together with other desires, thoughts and decisions.
I learned how to be considerate
to flow and be flexible within a framework of walking and traveling in nature -
With the powerful nature of our country in the background:
From a green forest to a stream and flowing water...
coming from the toe of the Galilee
to the high Mount Meron and from there we go down towards the Sea of Galilee...
In a few days the landscape changes beyond recognition!
From the Green Carmel to the coastal plain and with it to Tel Aviv including a walk in the middle of Shinkin Street.
From here, along the ancient pilgrim's path to the Jerusalem mountains, and from here within a day and a half you reach the desert -
With whom we will march for another three weeks at least until Eilat.
I saw colors of flowers that I had never noticed before!
I learned their names and over time
I knew them all by heart.
I woke up every morning with birdsong
It seems that we were accompanied by a distance of dozens of kilometers...
For the first time I felt so close to the earth, so close to nature from diverse angles whether it's landscape observations and walking on paths I didn't know existed.
How diverse can a trip to Israel be!
In something like three days from the beginning of the march, we went from 4 guys to 12 guys!
Every day we met more and more travelers and decided to continue traveling together... a group of people from all spectrums of Israeli society...
After about a week and a half of walking
It was a Friday afternoon.
Tired and exhausted from the road...
We were looking for a place to stay…
We didn't prepare enough time in advance, and therefore we didn't know what would happen?
We are 12 people... it's not easy to find a place for all of us...
We called a family that appeared on the list of "angels of the path" - a list of volunteers who help travelers on the path of Israel along the way. The time was 17:00 in the afternoon, I was talking to a nice woman on the phone and in a hesitant voice I told her that we were traveling for Israel and looking for a place to stay tonight - she immediately answered: With pleasure! You are invited to our place with love.
I told her that there is another tiny detail that I didn't mention: we are 12 guys!
Without getting confused or hesitating, she said: Come on, come with love, there's no problem at all!
We got to her house.
Each and every one with a big bag -
She welcomed us and said: You all have water to shower. When you're done with the showers, we'll sit down to eat dinner together.
And so, we opened a huge table for us and her family - and we ate dinner together - a luxurious Friday dinner.
The food was enough for everyone!
Full of energy and gratitude we set off, back to the spectacular nature of our country.
To the wonderful paths through the paths of our tiny country...
Step by step, at my own pace
I got to know where Mount Miron and the Kinneret Valley are
Where the road goes up to Mount Tabor and the Jezreel Valley.
Where the Carmel meets the sea.
All the dots connected like pieces of a puzzle: from the stories of the Bible to the stories of the pilgrims to the holy places to our present day.
From personal stories and memorials
Breathtaking observations that appear in books
Names of streams, trees
And flowers... I knew them all, I fell in love with them all.
In addition to all these, meeting such good people in the middle of the road proved to me that my commander knew very well what and why he was advising me.
Going to the Israel Trail, I discovered the Land of Israel and fell in love with it all over again.
I met wonderful friends who to this day are in a relationship of wonderful friendship.
I fell in love with nature
In landscapes, places and people.
I left the trail full of insights, experiences and friends.
The marked path on which I walked along our country from north to south opened up to me a wonderful world.
He paved the way for me that seemed so natural to me to study teaching the way and guiding trips in nature.
The era of social networks reminds us of pictures from life and the story of our life lives in us all the time with reminders from Facebook.
I get reminders like this all the time about the story from which it all started.
I return to the path
Faced with the complex and not simple reality
of Israeli society.
And so in fact, I never left the trail.
I walked and walked with him and he, to this day, goes everywhere with me.
The Israel Trail trip is such a brave and important choice
What makes a person want to go on a journey? And if it's a trip, why exactly the Israel Trail trip?
The Israel Trail is much more than just a hike. This is the most direct and honest way to see and get to know the country.
First of all because of the pace.
The pace of walking is different for each shape
Other of progress:
Traveling by train, by bike, running, sailing...
When walking, the pace is slower
Allows stopping and reaching places that cannot be reached in any other way.
On the last trip I guided, the group and I stood in front of the spectacular view (the trip was in Carmel). I asked to stop for a few moments just to give thanks for the moment.
Thank you for coming here.
Suddenly something occurred to me that I shared with everyone:
"Guys, you can only get here by walking and no other way!"
We are lucky.
If so, the Israel Trail trip allows you to really touch the places you reach. stop and take a breath. to thank.
In many places on the trail you will come to information points about history, about the local stories.
It is possible and necessary to stop and read. When you are exposed to stories where they really happened - there is no substitute for that.
That's why it's not just a casual trip
but also through experience and exposure
to Israeli culture
and getting to know her better.
That's why I wrote that going on a trip for Israel is brave.
How easy and tempting is it to make another trip? A trip abroad? Until we found time and planned a few weeks or months of freedom from everything,
You can go somewhere else.
After all, we already know our country, that's clear...
is that so?
The decision to plan and take advantage of the days off right here, and of all the possible trips and places to choose the Israel Trail trip, is brave and correct!
Because you will get to know very large parts of our country.
You will meet lovely people who are out exploring like you.
You will find out what is happening behind all the headlines. the news. the rumours.
You will get to touch and connect with Israeli society for real.
We need more such visionary people who believe in their country and want to create a better future for everyone.
How do you create a better future?
Going out to meet other people.
The Israel Trail trip is an opportunity
Great to meet other travelers
have similar interests.
Of course not always
It is so and it is indeed very wide and diverse even in the population that goes out for a walk.
We will probably connect with more people on the trail. We will listen and hear their story. We may find that the reason they chose to go on a journey is similar to ours.
This "partnership of fate" is interesting.
It feels good and pleasant that there are other people who have chosen like us.
One of the most captivating and empowering things about the trail is the ability and place to share.
There is someone listening to me. I feel heard.
A wonderful and fulfilling feeling.
Listen to others, and you too will get the stage to share. Quality is important and human contact throughout the Israel Trail trip.
The Israel Trail is organized: the right way to go on a journey at a time and pace that suits you
Similar to a normal organized trip, an organized Israel Trail allows for order, peace and knowing that someone is taking care of me.
The Israel Trail is a hiking route that covers the entire country from north to south.
The options for "playing" the march are many, and can vary depending on the target audience.
In the appropriate season it is possible
Start in the north and go south.
or vice versa.
You can change in the middle
the direction according to the season of the year.
From a deep, detailed acquaintance with the path, is it possible to know and understand what constitutes a more challenging route? Walking north to south or south to north?
The path is divided into segments of several kilometers - how far do you want to go?
Are there convenient entry and exit points in the sections I have chosen?
The Israel Trail is organized
Responds to all of these
and allows travelers
arrive with peace of mind and fun.
You will choose the dates - when is it appropriate for me to walk?
Some people will choose the weekly day off and use it to travel for Israel, some will choose Saturday.
The idea is that when the trip is organized, you can choose the dates and time that suits you from among the options.
The Israel Trail was designed for self-walking, meaning that you can find your way around and walk on your own.
The trail markings are very clear in the field, there are many guides written over the years
including mine :)
And yet, you need to know the area.
You need to know the structure of the area.
Not every route that looks reasonable on the map, is indeed so. There are challenging parts that, if you don't know them in advance, you can't really tell (not even from reading written guides).
If you want an organized Israel Trail, I will be happy to give advice, tips and of course organize the whole experience for you the way you want.
I offer trips to sections of the Israel Trail with professional guidance, without worrying about the challenging logistics
Want to make a dream come true? Did you finally manage to make time? I suggest reading and hearing about trips from the sections of the Israel Trail.
The Israel Trail is a hiking route that connects different and varied parts of Israel. The length of the trail is over 1,000 km - which makes it quite a journey.
Out of the whole path, there are sections that over the years I have defined for myself and kept them as leading in my eyes (and the most beautiful).
The nature walking route is intended for both beginners and experienced hikers!
Of course, it depends on the section you choose.
Excursions on the sections of the Israel Trail allow you to enjoy the beauty of the Israel Trail in small bites, and indeed reach its most beautiful parts!
Each segment has transportation, close and professional guidance by guides who know the area inside out.
together,
We will go on some of the most beautiful walks in Israel and fall in love with it together through our feet.
Want to hear more about the Israel Trail sections?
My choice: 10 routes for Israel that will make you addicted to traveling
Since I first got to know the path after my military service, I have collected routes for Israel that I think are a must-know!
I come back to them again and again.
And the admiration does not stop. The opposite is correct!
I share with you with love 10 routes for Israel that I have chosen:
(You can click on any of the routes and get to a road story)
- Nahal Dishon
- Amud river
- Swiss forest
- Tavor mountain
- Nahal Hik and Mount Shukaf
- Ramat Hanediv to Caesarea
- Nahal Hava
- the small crater
- Timna Park
- Nahal Geshroon
Go for a walk! You should start with routes for Israel.
