The Hula Valley

The Hula valley is a place of miracles and wonders. Heroic people working together with Mother Nature have made the Hula valley into a place filled with abundant green beauty. 

Until the 1950s large parts of the Hula valley were covered by the Hula Lake and its adjacent swamps. The project for draining the swamps contributed to settlement in the area and to the addition of large areas of agricultural land, leaving the central lake area as a nature reserve where fauna and flora characteristic of the area could remain. Visitors to the Hula Valley can see the plants and animals that are indigenous to the area as well as migrating birds. Films and audio-visual presentations are shown in the visitors' center, which tell about life in the area 50 years ago.  

At the beginning of the 1990s one of the areas of the valley became flooded again as the result of heavy rains. It was decided to develop the surrounding area and to leave the flooded area as it was. The new site – Agamon HaHula, became the second home for thousands of migrating birds that pass through the area in the autumn and spring, as well as the home of many native birds, making it a popular sight for bird-watchers from Israel and abroad. Agamon HaHula has walking paths, observation points, and telescopes for observing the thousands of birds that inhabit the site. Visitors can also go on guided tours that offer explanations about the birds that inhabit the Hula Valley.  

Water is extremely abundant in the valley, including springs such as Ein Tina, the Jakhula, and the large northern rivers such as the Dan, Snir, Hermon and the Jordan. Because of the abundance of water the area is green and flowering, and contains numerous nature reserves such as HaTanur, Tel Dan, and the Banias. There are also national parks in the region such as Hurshat Tal. 

There are many kibbutzim and moshavim in the Hula Valley, as well as the city ofKiryat Shmona. It has become one of the major tourism regions in Israel, offering activities throughout the year. Visitors to the Hula Valley can choose from a large selection of guest rooms, country lodging facilities, luxury hotels, and hostels. There are also dozens of archeological sites such as Tel Hatzor, tourist attractions such as the Tel Hai Photography Museum, historical sites such as theTel Hai Compound, and entertainment centers for children and families such as the Manara Cliffs and cable car. 

Netanya

Netanya is a lively seacoast town situated on the Sharoncoastal plain, and a center for tourism that attracts thousands of visitors each year. The lovely beaches that extend along its entire length, its numerous vacation facilities, and hotels have made it a popular tourist resort. Exploring Netanya, one can hear a variety of languages spoken in the streets by tourists from all over the world.  

Netanya was originally a moshava – a small agricultural village with citrus groves and a flourishing tourist trade. Since the 1930s it has also become a center for the diamond cutting industry, which provide work for many of its residents.  

Today Netanya is a bustling resort city. It has dozens of hotels and guesthouses, charming coffee shops, restaurants offering a variety of tastes and styles, fashion boutiques, shopping centers, galleries, and entertainment spots. Festivals and other events are held in Netanya throughout the year, making the city become a lively gathering place.  

The city center has a food bazaar that is known for its colorful stalls and exotic aromas. There is also an authentic market open each week in the industrial area where you can find clothing, shoes, jewelry, and other wares. The finest feature of Netanya is its beautiful beaches that extend for 12 kilometers along the city's seacoast. The bathing beaches have sports and vacation facilities for the entire family, and they are filled with bathers and vacationers throughout the summer. Above the beach is a ridge of rugged cliffs - the only ones of their kind in Israel - with a long promenade overlooking the sea. The promenade constitutes part of the "Israel Road" - a marked walking path that extends the entire length of the country from Kibbutz Dan in the north to Eilat in the south.  

Netanya has a distinguished place in local history.  There are several interesting sites such as the Um Khaled Khan that dates back to the Mamluke period. In the nearby park there is a sycamore tree that is 1,000 years old. The Pninat Shabtai Museum features an exhibition of Yemenite folklore, and the Diamond Center Museum has an exhibition of diamonds and a miniature model of a diamond mine. Nature lovers can stroll through the southern section of the city where there are several large nature reserves, including the Irises Reserve, where there is a large concentration of rare purple irises that flower in February and March, the Nahal Poleg Nature Reserve that contains fauna that is unique to the area, and the Udim Reserve where there is a pool with turtles, fish, and water birds.

Arad

Arad and its surroundings have been blessed with beautiful landscapes, desert tranquility, and many walking trails nestled amongst untouched desert nooks, which are suitable for any age or style. Arad of the new millennium is a town with young spirit and rich experience. The town, which was built according to international professional standards, is well planned. Even today, 40 years after its establishment, Arad is still clean, spacious, well organized and its residents’ hearts are always open to welcome any guest from anywhere in the world.

The ancient name "Arad" was preserved over thousands of years and is in fact known since the dawn of Eretz Israel – the ancient Bronze Era. Ancient Arad was built over 5,000 years ago next to the modern Arad. Being a big and important kingdom, Arad was an important trade center, while bridging between the Eastern side of the Jordan River, the Mediterranean Sea and ancient Egypt in the South, and the Euphrates and Tigris rivers (Mesopotamia) in the North. The location of modern Arad has a wide range of advantages.  In its East lies the Dead Sea, along with its many sites and possibilities. A beautiful scenic desert surrounds Arad. The Judea Desert lies on its North and on its South the spaces of the Eastern Negev – with their craters, impressive hills and wide Negev streams.

Within a few minutes from Arad you will find the Yatir Forest, Israel's largest forest, which offers a pleasant European climate all year long. Eight thousand acres of wide forest offer plenty of magical nature sites, remains of ancient settlements, a marvelous spring blossom, and clear mountain air all year long. Arad is indeed the natural gate of the perfect desert vacation. It is the perfect starting point of any trip or holiday in the spaces of Israeli desert. Arad offers its guests a wide range of municipal services, tourism services, catering, lodging and plenty of tourism sites around the city and its near surroundings.

Sde Boker

Kibbutz Sde Boker is the realization of the dream envisioned by David Ben Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister and defense minister, who loved the Negev and its expanses and wanted to settle the desert and make it bloom. The kibbutz, built in the northern Negev Mountains, was established in 1952 by a group of discharged soldiers and attracted the public’s attention when Ben Gurion moved to Sde Boker to live there with his wife Paula.

Ben Gurion’s vision has indeed been realized and today the Negev is a blossoming region, dotted with many communities and thriving farms. Sde Boker has retained Ben Gurion’s heritage. The hut in which he lived from the day he moved there until his death in 1973 is preserved exactly as it was when he lived there. The area around the hut has been developed and expanded for the benefit of visitors, including a display of Ben Gurion’s famous statements and photographs of the early days of the kibbutz. The hut also houses the Ben Gurion archive, which is actually his private library, containing over 5,000 books about all the things he loved. The adjacent hut, where his bodyguards lived, has been turned into a museum devoted to Ben Gurion’s special relationship with the Negev.

South of the kibbutz there is a campus named after Ben Gurion, which houses a desert research institute, a Ben Gurion heritage institute, a field school and a guest house, a high school where youth from all over the country study nature from nature itself, a reptile farm and a desert sculpture museum. The nearby Ben Gurion memorial site, where David and Paula Ben Gurion are buried, offers a beautiful view of the Nakhal Tsin rift.

Kibbutz Sde Boker has several sources of income: a vineyard and boutique winery, an inn and restaurant, art gallery and souvenir shop, and agricultural crops. Sde Boker is the starting point for many wonderful tours to fascinating Negev sites, such the Ein Ovdat (Avdat) National Park, whose features include the Nakhal Tsin canyons and springs, waterfalls, plentiful plant and animal life, the archeological site of the Nabatean city of Avdat, the Ein Eikev spring that flows year round and a Bedouin hospitality site.

Rosh-Pina

One of the oldest moshavot in Israel, Rosh Pina has aged gracefully over the past 120 years. The small town of today is very different from the moshava founded in 1878 when a group of ultra orthodox Jews settled here and became farmers with the support of the Baron Edmund de Rothschild. Today it is a place of trendy cafés restaurants and guesthouses in a town whose main source of income is upscale tourism.

Rosh Pina is located on the north eastern slopes of Mt. Canaan overlooking the Hula Valley and the Golan. The old houses in the heart of the moshava have been beautifully preserved as have their cobblestone streets. In the center is the House of Officials which was built in 1885 as an administrative center for Rosh Pina during the time it was supported by Baron Rothschild. Now one can watch an audiovisual presentation about the history of Rosh Pina in the House and from there proceed to the nearby Baron’s Gardens, also built for the Baron’s staff, which were said to be modeled on the gardens at Versailles. Also in the center of old Rosh Pina is the synagogue, the second modern Hebrew school built in Israel, and the house of Dr. Mer, who researched Malaria in the Hula Valley during the 1930s. At the back of Rosh Pina there is the old cemetery with the graves of the moshava’s founders.
The old part of Rosh Pina is full of cafes, restaurants, guesthouses and art galleries. There are also many guesthouses in the newer parts of Rosh Pina as well as boutique hotels and a busy shopping center.

Rosh Pina is a convenient base for touring many attractions in the area such as Nahal Rosh Pina the Korazim National Park, Safed (Tsfat) and Tel Hatsor. It is also a good base for guided hiking tours, horseback riding, bike tours and jeep excursions.

Ein Gedi

Ein Gedi is an oasis in the desert and a green Garden of Eden in the wilderness. It is situated on the shore of the Dead Sea – the lowest place on Earth - at the feet of majestic mountains and cliffs. 

One of the most exciting places in Israel, Ein Gedi combines a wild, natural setting with a primeval panorama, history and archaeology, tourist attractions, and spas. Its unique climate and atmosphere make it a place for a unique desert adventure.  

Ein Gedi contains the historical and archaeological remains of its first inhabitants, who discovered the magic of the place more than 5,000 years ago it has also served as a landmark in the history of the Jewish people throughout history. David took refuge in Ein Gedi when he was pursued by King Saul, and rebels fled there from Jerusalem. Valuable persimmon oil and rare perfumes were produced there, and temples and synagogues were established here to strengthen the Jewish stronghold in the area. 

Ein Gedi has an international reputation as a health spa. Tourists from all over the world come there to take advantage of the hot springs, mineral waters, and mud baths, and to  enjoy the desert climate, bathe in the healing waters of the Dead Sea, and breathe healthful bromide-filled air. 

Ein Gedi is an ideal place to become familiar with the desert and its hidden wonders. Nature reserves such as Nakhal David and Nakhal Arugot have water flowing through them throughout the year. Rivers run through deep canyons surrounded by lush vegetation – a sharp contrast to the surrounding desert. If you are lucky you will also be able to spot ibexes and other animals that come to the rivers to drink. There are other tourist attractions nearby such as Einot Tzukim and Ein Bokek.  

Kibbutz Ein Gedi, founded in 1953, is located on a nearby hilltop overlooking the area.  The kibbutz has a botanical garden with plants and trees from all over the world. If you walk among the houses in the evening you can view the flowering cacti and baobab tress, as well as other unique plants. Visitors to the area can lodge in the attractive kibbutz guest house, in the nearby field school, or camp out on the shore of the Dead Sea.  

Other recommended activities in the area include jeep excursions and safaris through the desert, tours of Massada, and the Qumran caves. 

The Judean Desert

The Judean Desert is bordered by the Mountains of Judea to the west and by the Dead Sea to the East. It is considered a relatively small desert, spanning only 1,500 square kilometers, but it contains many fascinating nature reserves, historic sites, monasteries and primeval panoramas that make it an exciting and unique place to visit.

The Judean desert is full of breathtaking views that are constantly changing. Mountains, cliffs, and chalk hills stand alongside plateaus, riverbeds, and deep canyons. The width and breadth of the desert is crossed by several rivers that have created canyons up to 500 meters deep. Some of these rivers have water all year round, and create oases such as Nahal Arugot, Nahal Prat, and Nahal David. The ancient cliffs on the eastern edge of the desert tower to a height of 300 meters above the shore of the Dead Sea, and nature reserves such as Ein Gedi and Einot Tzukim lie at their feet.  

The Judean Desert is close to Jerusalem and relatively sparsely populated. The few settlements that are there were established at its perimeter.  The desert is known for its rugged landscape, which has provided a refuge and hiding place for rebels and zealots throughout history, as well as solitude and isolation to monks and hermits. During the days of the Maccabees (about 2,000 years ago) large fortresses such as Massada and Horkenya were established in the desert. During the period of the great rebellion against Rome the last battle of the Jewish zealots was fought on Massada, and during the period of the Second Temple members of the Judean Desert cult lived there.  

Several decades ago the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered hidden in a cave in Qumran, which shed light on the Bible and on the period during which they were written. It is worthwhile to visit Qumran National Park and see the archeological remains of the Jewish settlement that existed there.

Jewish rebels were not the only people who lived in the Judean Desert. During the Byzantine period (approximately 1,500 years ago) a special order of monks known as the Laura lived there and based their lifestyle upon total isolation and solitude. The magnificent monasteries that belonged to monks of this order were built in the cliffs and rock crevasses, with small, personal chambers and cupolas for common meetings during days of prayer.  

Many monasteries have been established in the Judean Desert. Some of these are still active, and others, such as the Mar Saba Monastery, the Mar Jirias and others are empty and only the ruins remain.  

Near the Judean Desert and the monasteries is one of the most important sites in Christianity, the Baptism site on the Jordan River, where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. According to Christian tradition, the waters of the Jordan River are sacred, and many pilgrims come to the spot and immerse themselves in the waters. (The site was later moved to the spot where the Jordan River flows out of the Kinneret, which is more easily accessible.)  

Visitors can go on excursions in the Judean Desert for several days on foot, by bicycle, or with an SUV. Tourists can lodge in one of the many hotels in the area or camp out under the stars for a real desert experience.