Help me plan my trip to Israel

[joe]

@joe I can't see one from the monastery. We should be able to drive up there and look for a trail.

Here's a link to the area in Google Maps (satellite view) .
The trail should be marked out in red signs along the way. It is a relatively short walk through rather open spaces, I'd go there mainly for the view eastwards from the vantage point of the monastery. So it's good mostly for a clear day.

 

[ItalophileNJ]

Pauline, maybe you already know about this, and maybe it's even in this thread (I'm not a hiker so I haven't paid close attention) but on a podcast I listen to I recently heard about the Carmel Hai Bar nature reserve. Thought of you..
https://www.parks.org.il/en/reserve-park/hai-bar-carmel-nature-reserve/

 

[Pauline]

There has been heavy rain and flooding in parts of Israel. We arrive Sunday but the weather in Haifa is looking good.

Ynet News - Two men rescued after floods sweep away cars in Jerusalem area
Vehicles carried into stream in Arazim Valley near the capital as heavy rainfall reported across country; one of the two has to be pulled from water.

 

[joe]

Here's the view from the Muhraka, taken today by a friend of mine. Exactly the reason for going on a clear day......

 

[Pauline]

After Haifa, we drive east into the Galilee, to Amirim, a village near Safed. We spend a week there.
The Terrace - https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/19468063

We will spend our week doing some hiking, visiting Safed and exploring the area around the Sea of Galilee (also known as Lake Kinneret).

The weather is cooler in Amirim than in Haifa. For our week in Haifa, the forecast is sunny and highs of low to mid 60s F, going up to low 70s at the end of our week. Night lows are high 40s to low 50s. In Amirim it looks like at least 10F cooler. The owner said we are likely to get days in the 60s and nights down to 40. The forecast shows it going down to mid 50s some days. Some rain is forecast for that week.

It looks like we can walk some trails right from the village. The reviews for the place we rented all mention that the owner gives you good hiking information.

For driving around the Sea of Galilee we will use Israel by Foot's drive - Around Lake Kinneret. I purchased the maps for this drive and they include several short hikes, so we can have a driving day with short hiking stops.

Other hikes (most from Israel by Foot):
Hiking in Gush Halav Stream - which is nearby, from Jish.
Nahal Amud - short version (also in Ha'aretz article)
Mount Arbel - drive to top instead of hike?
Sea of Galilee Walking Trail - there is a long distance path around the lake. We will walk part of it, maybe from north of Tiberius.
Mount Meron - near Amirim, summit trail (from Jerusalem Post article on Safed)

Erez, who runs the Israel by Foot site (and wrote an article on hiking for us), wrote: "From Amirim don’t miss out to make a short walk to the summit of “Mitzpe Hayamim Mountain”. It’s one of the only spots in Israel where you can see both the sea of Galilee and the Mediterranean from the same spot." He also recommended the Yehudiya Forest Nature Reserve near Amirim for hiking.

Obviously we can't do all this in a week! But we have a lot to choose from.

 

[Pauline]

Here's the view from the Muhraka, taken today by a friend of mine. Exactly the reason for going on a clear day......

Beautiful!

 

[joe]

Even the orchids are blooming in the Carmel area :

 

[joe]

If you do get to Nahal Gush Halav, there's a nice spring that I think your guide didn't mention : Ein Alva.
Here's the link to the spot.
Some cottonwood/polar and walnut trees there, plus the flowing water and small pool, make for a lovely spot (not my photo) :

 

[joe]

And another off-the-beaten track spot that's very lovely is Horvat Katsyon. Theoretically you could hike to it by leaving the car on the 886 road, between Alma and Dishon, and then entering Nahal Dishon (itself very nice as well). But maybe ask your contact at Amirim first, how best to go about it, I haven't been there in these last years.

 

[Pauline]

I found this article about hiking in northern Galilee:

The Jerusalem Post - Hike of the Month - The Jordan River Tributaries , by Erez Speizer.

The hotel we are staying at in Kfar Blum, for 2 nights after Amirim, is on the Jordan River near where it starts.

 

[Pauline]

If you do get to Nahal Gush Halav, there's a nice spring that I think your guide didn't mention : Ein Alva.

You know how much I like finding these springs when hiking! Thanks!

 

[Pauline]

And another off-the-beaten track spot that's very lovely is Horvat Katsyon.

Do you see the marker for Rish Le-Kish nearby on the google map? Isn't that the same name as the Olive Oil place at Zippori?

Thanks, I've made a note of this.

 

[joe]

Do you see the marker for Rish Le-Kish nearby on the google map? Isn't that the same name as the Olive Oil place at Zippori?

Exactly. Rish Lakish is short in Hebrew for Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish, a famous Talmud scholar and interpreter that lived in Israel in the third century. His tomb is not far from Horvat Katsyon. He was apparently born in Zippori, and had much admiration for its produce. From the Talmud (translated of course):
"For Resh Lakish has said: I have myself seen the trail of milk and honey round Zippori, and it is sixteen miles by sixteen miles."
I suppose that the olive oil producers at Zippori used his name in respect of his connection to the place.
He was a colorful character, maybe you'd like to read a bit about him :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shimon_ben_Lakish

A photo (not mine) of the tomb (he is buried alongside his teacher and friend, Rabbi Yochanan) :

 

[joe]

Two photos I took in Horvat Katsyon 5 years ago almost to the day...

 

[Valerie]

All these posts and pictures make me want to go so badly! Buon viaggio Pauline and Steve - we'll be following your hikes and history hunting.

 

[Pauline]

All these posts and pictures make me want to go so badly! Buon viaggio Pauline and Steve - we'll be following your hikes and history hunting.

Jerusalem 2020! I’m planning your trip

 

[Pauline]

Here's a link to the area in Google Maps (satellite view) .
The trail should be marked out in red signs along the way. It is a relatively short walk through rather open spaces, I'd go there mainly for the view eastwards from the vantage point of the monastery. So it's good mostly for a clear day.

We drove through that area today but turned back because the traffic was chaotic. Maybe we will go the long way around instead of through the mountains.

 

[Pauline]

We have arrived in Israel and I am posting my trip notes here:
https://www.sloweurope.com/community/threads/four-weeks-in-israel-march-2019.4340/