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Help me plan my trip to Israel
- Thread starter Pauline
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Pauline
Forums Admin
I think that what I like about Israel has nothing to do with the landscape. Israel is similar to New Mexico with hot desert in the south, like the Negev, rolling hills covered with trees around Santa Fe, like those outside Jerusalem, and a greener area in the north. But while the landscape is somewhat like I am used to the country is very different.
What I like is the history, which is what draws me to Italy as well. And the idea of it being such a religious center for several major religions. I am not religious (but was raised religious) but I am fascinated by religion. Touching the western wall was overwhelming. As was walking the stations of the cross. And looking up to the Dome of the Rock.
A bonus for us is the popularity of hiking, the availability of natural foods shops and vegetarian food, that English is widely spoken, and that in some ways it feels like the US. But with a Middle Eastern feel.
We are still at that “ga-ga” stage, fascinated by everything we see. I think that Steve being Jewish is also part of the experience for us.
I am reading more about how the country was formed, with the horrible violence on both sides. It is all very interesting.
What I like is the history, which is what draws me to Italy as well. And the idea of it being such a religious center for several major religions. I am not religious (but was raised religious) but I am fascinated by religion. Touching the western wall was overwhelming. As was walking the stations of the cross. And looking up to the Dome of the Rock.
A bonus for us is the popularity of hiking, the availability of natural foods shops and vegetarian food, that English is widely spoken, and that in some ways it feels like the US. But with a Middle Eastern feel.
We are still at that “ga-ga” stage, fascinated by everything we see. I think that Steve being Jewish is also part of the experience for us.
I am reading more about how the country was formed, with the horrible violence on both sides. It is all very interesting.
We visited Acre/Akko and Rosh HaNikra -- you can get a combined ticket, Tzfat, which I'm glad we did early in the day because the synagogues are wonderful to see but the streets become crowded with tourists a bit later on. We skipped all of the art galleries save one, Canaan Gallery, where I ended up ordering a custom woven tallit and it was a magical experience.
Our guide drove, and worked out interesting routes, sharing history all the while. We stopped at two different memorial sites, Tel Hai and Metzudat Koach, which were both both interesting and moving. The Bar Am ancient synagogue site was beautifully preserved, and we saw the remains of a 6th century synagogue site in the Biriya forest, Naburiya, which was a significant archeological find. The lintels, which were nearly intact, are at the Israel Museum.
We also visited Magdala, near the Migdal Junction. That was a stand-in for the Mount of Beautitudes which was so unbelievably crowded we decide to bail. The excavations at Magdala are extremely interesting. We also spent a little bit of time in Rosh Pinna, where our guide lives, and where we stayed for three nights. Interesting history, and a very pretty little town.
Finally, on the way back to Jerusalem we drove through the Golan Heights and stopped at Gamla, which is sometimes referred to as the "Masada of the North". Beautiful natural surroundings, but we didn't opt to hike down to the ancient city. And sadly, it wasn't the right season to see the raptors in action on the cliffs.
It sounds like we did a lot -- and we did! -- but there's so much more we want to see and do: Mt Hermon, Mt Tabor, the Banias, Jeep touring in the Golan. We pretty much saw the Hula Valley from all viewpoints.
This was my husband's first trip to Israel, and my first visit in 30+ years, but in the mid 80's I visited twice.
Our guide drove, and worked out interesting routes, sharing history all the while. We stopped at two different memorial sites, Tel Hai and Metzudat Koach, which were both both interesting and moving. The Bar Am ancient synagogue site was beautifully preserved, and we saw the remains of a 6th century synagogue site in the Biriya forest, Naburiya, which was a significant archeological find. The lintels, which were nearly intact, are at the Israel Museum.
We also visited Magdala, near the Migdal Junction. That was a stand-in for the Mount of Beautitudes which was so unbelievably crowded we decide to bail. The excavations at Magdala are extremely interesting. We also spent a little bit of time in Rosh Pinna, where our guide lives, and where we stayed for three nights. Interesting history, and a very pretty little town.
Finally, on the way back to Jerusalem we drove through the Golan Heights and stopped at Gamla, which is sometimes referred to as the "Masada of the North". Beautiful natural surroundings, but we didn't opt to hike down to the ancient city. And sadly, it wasn't the right season to see the raptors in action on the cliffs.
It sounds like we did a lot -- and we did! -- but there's so much more we want to see and do: Mt Hermon, Mt Tabor, the Banias, Jeep touring in the Golan. We pretty much saw the Hula Valley from all viewpoints.
This was my husband's first trip to Israel, and my first visit in 30+ years, but in the mid 80's I visited twice.
ItalophileNJ
100+ Posts
Great; milgreen2, sounds like you had some great touring with Richard. My three days with him were so packed full and he was so knowledgeable and such a treat to be with: An extravagance for me but well worth it.
Now I need to go back and look at the Google photo albums I made, hundreds of photos that I carefully reviewed and captioned then sent to Richard to check for accuracy of description.
We also visited Tel Hai and Lohamei haGetta’ot, the Ghetto Fighters kibbutz. I’d been to the North a few times before, and am particularly interested in early archaeology but this time I didn’t want to miss the modern history sites.
Aah, what a treat.
Now I need to go back and look at the Google photo albums I made, hundreds of photos that I carefully reviewed and captioned then sent to Richard to check for accuracy of description.
We also visited Tel Hai and Lohamei haGetta’ot, the Ghetto Fighters kibbutz. I’d been to the North a few times before, and am particularly interested in early archaeology but this time I didn’t want to miss the modern history sites.
Aah, what a treat.
Pauline
Forums Admin
Thanks both of you for these northern suggestions. I have them noted and am starting to work on deciding what we want to see.
@ItalophileNJ We are spending one night in Zikron Ya'akov and have the next day to do something in that area before driving to Haifa. We visited Caesarea last year, so can skip that. Did you mention Tel Dor to me? I have it as a favorite on my Google Map and I think you had gone there. Do you recommend it? I thought we might also do a walk at Habonim Beach Nature Reserve which is close by.
@ItalophileNJ We are spending one night in Zikron Ya'akov and have the next day to do something in that area before driving to Haifa. We visited Caesarea last year, so can skip that. Did you mention Tel Dor to me? I have it as a favorite on my Google Map and I think you had gone there. Do you recommend it? I thought we might also do a walk at Habonim Beach Nature Reserve which is close by.
The walk along the beach from Dor to Neveh-Yam is beautiful (first two pics ). The problem is finding a good loop : no train stations close by (the nearest ones are Atlit and Binyamina), and I'm not sure how the buses run there. Theoretically you could do the whole loop, or part of it, from Zichron on foot, or cut across to Highway 4 and catch a bus back to Zichron.
Four additional areas in the vicinity with lots of trails :
1) Ofer and Kerem Maharal (I think I suggested them to you on your previous trip to Haifa), third pic
2) the area of Ramot Menashe
3) Nahal Taninim
4) Har Horshan
Again, you'd have to plan a loop that entails leaving the car at some village or secure spot, and returning to it. Not too difficult once you pick the general area.
ItalophileNJ
100+ Posts
Hi Pauline.....
I’ve only visited Dor once, in 1993 when we were staying adjacent at the (then very basic) guest accommodations at Kibbutz Nachsholim. It was a working archaeological site, very busy, and not an official park that you could visit.
There was a lovely little museum of some some of the local finds, wonderful little Canaanite fertility goddesses.
But remember, I’m more the
archaeology and history person, not the hiker.
We never even visited Caesarea that trip; Roman ruins much too modern for me. ;-)
And of course if you're based in Zichron, a lovely stroll can be had at the Ramat HaNadiv Nature Park, just on the southern outskirts of the town, where the Rothschild memorial house is located.
https://www.ramat-hanadiv.org.il/en/plan-your-visit
BTW, all the above trails are quite busy on Saturdays, including jeeps and bikers of all sorts where there are dirt roads, so plan your visit accordingly if you go. Some places are also in the midst of farming areas, so that also adds some interesting scenery.
One from Ramot Menashe :
And the area of Ofer :
https://www.ramat-hanadiv.org.il/en/plan-your-visit
BTW, all the above trails are quite busy on Saturdays, including jeeps and bikers of all sorts where there are dirt roads, so plan your visit accordingly if you go. Some places are also in the midst of farming areas, so that also adds some interesting scenery.
One from Ramot Menashe :
And the area of Ofer :
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Pauline
Forums Admin
Ramat Ha’Nadiv it is! We spend Sunday night in Zichron, so can have most of Monday there before driving to Haifa. Monday we can walk around the town, the drive out to Ha’Nadiv and do a hike. The website has good hike descriptions. And there are Roman ruins! Thanks!
We can stop at the beach after, or go back there from Haifa.
We can stop at the beach after, or go back there from Haifa.
Pauline
Forums Admin
I am in the final stages of trip planning for our March 2019 trip. We leave in 2 weeks!
After one night in Zichron (discussed above), we spend a week in Haifa, in the same apartment we rented in March 2018 (our first trip). Carmel Home Mount Seaview. This time we booked directly with the owner/manager by phone and got a better rate. We will have a rental car and the apartment has a parking spot. It is not that bad for getting in and out of the city from there, but we don't want to be driving every day.
For our week in Haifa I have these things planned:
Hiking at Mount Carmel National Park. I have a list of hikes from the parks website but am not sure which will be best for us, so we will probably drive up there and look at some of the trail signs.
Hiking in Haifa. @joe sent me information for two good city walks. The Haifa Trail, 70kms of trails through the city, goes down the street we are staying one. I think we will try sections 15: From Gan Ha'em to the sea through Wadi Lotem, which goes down a long wadi (canyon) from the upper city, HaCarmel where we are staying, to the seaside, and section 16 which continues along the seaside. Also Haifa 1000 Steps. Haifa is built on a hill and there are lanes of steps that take you between the levels of the city. We walked some of these last time.
Dado Beach. @Amy said this is a nice area with a promenade along the sea, restaurants and cafes. We will go down there on Friday night (Shabbot) to see if there is any dancing going on.
Falafel. @joe told me about this. There are two famous falafel places in Wadi Nisnas, the Arab area at the middle level. Falafel Hazkenim, 18 Hawadi and neighboring falafel stand Michel. From Culture Trip: "Falafel Hazkenim has stood the test of time as the clear leader for this popular and inexpensive street food in Haifa, and some say, in all of Israel."
Carmelit. An underground funicular that takes you from the top level of Haifa to the middle and the bottom. We did not use this last time because I didn't know about it. This time we will use buses (we have our RavKav cards from the last trip) and the Carmelit.
Talpiyot Market. The plan is to go Friday morning to get Challah and groceries. We did this on our last trip and loved this market. Walk from Solel Bone Square stop on Carmelit.
Stella Maris. I think we can walk out to this Carmelite monastery from our apartment (this is where the Catholic Camelites originated - we had a Carmelite monastery in Santa Fe), then either take the cable car down to the seaside or walk down (may be too steep). The site I linked to shows that the path takes you past Elijah the Prophet's cave. This is where I wish I had more religious knowledge. Elijah the Prophet seems to be important to both the Jews and the Catholics. All I know about Eilijah the Prophet I learned on Saturday Night Live.
Drive out to nearby area. Visit the Druze villages (Isfiya and Daliat el-Karmel), Ein Hod (artists village), the Makura farm to buy organic olive oil (open Friday and Saturday). Joe told me about
another organic farm, Har HaPracheem (the mountain of flowers), close by in Ofer. A viewpoint at Mitzpeh. He also recommended Kerem Maharal at the mouth of a small lovely valley with interesting volcanic tuff formations nearby.
Drive north to Rosh HaNikra. I am not sure I want to take the steep cable car down and walk in the grottos but I would like to see this area that is on the Lebanon border. It looks like we could turn off to the beach just south of Rosh HaNikra and walk along an old train line path to see the coast. According to Google Maps you can't get into Rosh HaNikra that way but they advertise that you can rent bikes there are ride out on this path. On the way up here I want to stop at Lochamie Hagetaot to see a Roman Aqueduct (north at Regba - Aqueduct Hotel). Here is a screensnap from Google Maps.
On the way back - Tarshiha - Ma'alot-Tarshiha - תרשיחא - recommended by Joe for restaurants
(Falafel Yosef). Buza in the same place for a good gelato. I would also like to stop in Nahariyya, larger town on the sea, and Klil, an organic village inland from Nahariyya. Sounds like too ambitious of a day for us!
I am sure we won't do all this, but we will see how the week goes. We also have a travel day from Haifa to Amirim (1hr 30min drive), so we could do some things then. I would like to go to Tel Megiddo National Park (Armageddon).
Comments, suggestions?
After one night in Zichron (discussed above), we spend a week in Haifa, in the same apartment we rented in March 2018 (our first trip). Carmel Home Mount Seaview. This time we booked directly with the owner/manager by phone and got a better rate. We will have a rental car and the apartment has a parking spot. It is not that bad for getting in and out of the city from there, but we don't want to be driving every day.
For our week in Haifa I have these things planned:
Hiking at Mount Carmel National Park. I have a list of hikes from the parks website but am not sure which will be best for us, so we will probably drive up there and look at some of the trail signs.
Hiking in Haifa. @joe sent me information for two good city walks. The Haifa Trail, 70kms of trails through the city, goes down the street we are staying one. I think we will try sections 15: From Gan Ha'em to the sea through Wadi Lotem, which goes down a long wadi (canyon) from the upper city, HaCarmel where we are staying, to the seaside, and section 16 which continues along the seaside. Also Haifa 1000 Steps. Haifa is built on a hill and there are lanes of steps that take you between the levels of the city. We walked some of these last time.
Dado Beach. @Amy said this is a nice area with a promenade along the sea, restaurants and cafes. We will go down there on Friday night (Shabbot) to see if there is any dancing going on.
Falafel. @joe told me about this. There are two famous falafel places in Wadi Nisnas, the Arab area at the middle level. Falafel Hazkenim, 18 Hawadi and neighboring falafel stand Michel. From Culture Trip: "Falafel Hazkenim has stood the test of time as the clear leader for this popular and inexpensive street food in Haifa, and some say, in all of Israel."
Carmelit. An underground funicular that takes you from the top level of Haifa to the middle and the bottom. We did not use this last time because I didn't know about it. This time we will use buses (we have our RavKav cards from the last trip) and the Carmelit.
Talpiyot Market. The plan is to go Friday morning to get Challah and groceries. We did this on our last trip and loved this market. Walk from Solel Bone Square stop on Carmelit.
Stella Maris. I think we can walk out to this Carmelite monastery from our apartment (this is where the Catholic Camelites originated - we had a Carmelite monastery in Santa Fe), then either take the cable car down to the seaside or walk down (may be too steep). The site I linked to shows that the path takes you past Elijah the Prophet's cave. This is where I wish I had more religious knowledge. Elijah the Prophet seems to be important to both the Jews and the Catholics. All I know about Eilijah the Prophet I learned on Saturday Night Live.
Drive out to nearby area. Visit the Druze villages (Isfiya and Daliat el-Karmel), Ein Hod (artists village), the Makura farm to buy organic olive oil (open Friday and Saturday). Joe told me about
another organic farm, Har HaPracheem (the mountain of flowers), close by in Ofer. A viewpoint at Mitzpeh. He also recommended Kerem Maharal at the mouth of a small lovely valley with interesting volcanic tuff formations nearby.
Drive north to Rosh HaNikra. I am not sure I want to take the steep cable car down and walk in the grottos but I would like to see this area that is on the Lebanon border. It looks like we could turn off to the beach just south of Rosh HaNikra and walk along an old train line path to see the coast. According to Google Maps you can't get into Rosh HaNikra that way but they advertise that you can rent bikes there are ride out on this path. On the way up here I want to stop at Lochamie Hagetaot to see a Roman Aqueduct (north at Regba - Aqueduct Hotel). Here is a screensnap from Google Maps.
On the way back - Tarshiha - Ma'alot-Tarshiha - תרשיחא - recommended by Joe for restaurants
(Falafel Yosef). Buza in the same place for a good gelato. I would also like to stop in Nahariyya, larger town on the sea, and Klil, an organic village inland from Nahariyya. Sounds like too ambitious of a day for us!
I am sure we won't do all this, but we will see how the week goes. We also have a travel day from Haifa to Amirim (1hr 30min drive), so we could do some things then. I would like to go to Tel Megiddo National Park (Armageddon).
Comments, suggestions?
Kim
10+ Posts
Yep I second Rosh HaNikra. I just reread my entry (http://www.whatireallythink.net/saturday/) and the tram takes a minute and worth it.
Oh and I don’t remember the name of the falafel place we went to on our first trip in Haifa but it was amazing.
Oh and I don’t remember the name of the falafel place we went to on our first trip in Haifa but it was amazing.
The Carmel National Park has some lovely places, definitely go to Keren HaCarmel (the Muhraka Monastery) for the view and the site itself, especially if the day is clear. There's a nice and relatively easy trail from there to Hirbet Kerah, but it's not circular, so you'll have to go back the same way. Another nice walk is Nahal Kelah. A fine time of the year to be out in this region, you might even see the first wild orchids.
Pauline
Forums Admin
From the not-detailed-enough Parks website, are these the ones you recommend?
We would do this one starting at Muhraka Monastery?
Is this the Nahal Kelah hike? Does is start from the Little Switzerland campground?
We could easily do both those hikes on one day.
Yes, definitely the only realistic option for you is to leave the car at the monastery. Perhaps try not to visit there on a weekend, if possible, as things can get crowded, and this is a small site. The last section of the road to the monastery was not paved once, but I suppose that's been improved since I was last there.
Nahal Kelah and Nahal Bustan are both beautiful hikes, they are more suited for warmer days, as there are parts that go in rather dense thickets. Also, the path goes over stones and "dry waterfalls", which will probably be slippery at this time of year, so take care. The starting point depends on how you want to do the route, there are a couple of options - it's a bit difficult to plan a circular route, the last time I was there we had two cars.
The path from the monastery to Kerah is through more open land, so you'll get a variety of landscapes if you decide to visit both routes.
Nahal Kelah and Nahal Bustan are both beautiful hikes, they are more suited for warmer days, as there are parts that go in rather dense thickets. Also, the path goes over stones and "dry waterfalls", which will probably be slippery at this time of year, so take care. The starting point depends on how you want to do the route, there are a couple of options - it's a bit difficult to plan a circular route, the last time I was there we had two cars.
The path from the monastery to Kerah is through more open land, so you'll get a variety of landscapes if you decide to visit both routes.
Pauline
Forums Admin
Steve sent me this link to help me learn the Hebrew alphabet:
https://www.teachmehebrew.com/alefbet-song.html
A children’s alphabet song!
https://www.teachmehebrew.com/alefbet-song.html
A children’s alphabet song!
Anne
100+ Posts
Fun! I took biblical Hebrew in seminary a few years ago, but unfortunately I've forgotten most of it.
Pauline
Forums Admin
I found a good site about hiking on Mt Carmel: http://www.dianabarshaw.com/
She has detailed descriptions for a number of hikes, where to park, public transportation, map. She even has a downloadable Word version for each hike so you don't have to copy and paste from the website.
There was a large forest fire in this area in 2010 (44 people died in it). Some of the trails go through fire damaged areas, but it should be recovering by now. She notes if hikes go through fire damage.
I am looking at these hikes:
Hike 2: University Loop
http://www.dianabarshaw.com/carmel-mountains-day-hikes-2.php
This one starts at Little Switzerland, above Haifa. It goes to a spring (Nahal Galim to Ein Kedem).
Hike 6: Nahal Galim, Nahal Kelach, Little Switzerland
http://www.dianabarshaw.com/carmel-mountains-day-hikes-6.php
This one starts at Little Switzerland, above Haifa. It goes through Nahal Kelah which @joe mentioned above.
Hike 11: Oren Junction Loop
http://www.dianabarshaw.com/carmel-mountains-day-hikes-11.php
This is a circular hike up to Ein Hod, a popular artists village. @joe mentioned Nahal Bustan above, which I assume is the Nachal Bistan she mentions in this hike. It might be too wet, but we will have a look because I plan to go up to Ein Hod at some point. This hike starts at Oren Junction off Route 4.
I downloaded all the hikes (in Word) and made PDFs that I can put into Books on my iPad and iPhone so I can refer to them when we are there.
It is great to find a website like this since there are no hiking books in English for Israel (none that I can find). Israel by Foot helps by having hike descriptions in English. On our other trips we found boards with maps when we got to parks. The trails seem to be color coded and well marked. But I have a hard time relating the maps on the boards to reality so finding descriptions like this helps me decide which hikes to do and then helps on the hike. If only Cicerone guides would do a hiking book for Israel!
@joe I can't see one from the monastery. We should be able to drive up there and look for a trail.
She has detailed descriptions for a number of hikes, where to park, public transportation, map. She even has a downloadable Word version for each hike so you don't have to copy and paste from the website.
There was a large forest fire in this area in 2010 (44 people died in it). Some of the trails go through fire damaged areas, but it should be recovering by now. She notes if hikes go through fire damage.
I am looking at these hikes:
Hike 2: University Loop
http://www.dianabarshaw.com/carmel-mountains-day-hikes-2.php
This one starts at Little Switzerland, above Haifa. It goes to a spring (Nahal Galim to Ein Kedem).
Hike 6: Nahal Galim, Nahal Kelach, Little Switzerland
http://www.dianabarshaw.com/carmel-mountains-day-hikes-6.php
This one starts at Little Switzerland, above Haifa. It goes through Nahal Kelah which @joe mentioned above.
Hike 11: Oren Junction Loop
http://www.dianabarshaw.com/carmel-mountains-day-hikes-11.php
This is a circular hike up to Ein Hod, a popular artists village. @joe mentioned Nahal Bustan above, which I assume is the Nachal Bistan she mentions in this hike. It might be too wet, but we will have a look because I plan to go up to Ein Hod at some point. This hike starts at Oren Junction off Route 4.
I downloaded all the hikes (in Word) and made PDFs that I can put into Books on my iPad and iPhone so I can refer to them when we are there.
It is great to find a website like this since there are no hiking books in English for Israel (none that I can find). Israel by Foot helps by having hike descriptions in English. On our other trips we found boards with maps when we got to parks. The trails seem to be color coded and well marked. But I have a hard time relating the maps on the boards to reality so finding descriptions like this helps me decide which hikes to do and then helps on the hike. If only Cicerone guides would do a hiking book for Israel!
@joe I can't see one from the monastery. We should be able to drive up there and look for a trail.