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.