Category: Destinations

So as an Israeli I would say that at the start, traveling in my own country for 2 or 3 months wasn’t the most tempting or adventurous decision i could do. Honestly before I decided to go for the israel national trail i planned to go travel in South America or Australia first. But then covid came and it changed my plans, I couldn’t go abroad and I decided to do the “easiest” thing and go for the trail, a decision that back then I didn’t know that will bring one of the best experiences in my life. So i called to one of my best friends and asked her to join me, she said yes. We went for a hiking shop, bought mochilas, hiking shoes and went out to the start point of the trail, in the south of israel- Eilat. After having some drinks in the bars of Eilat we took our sleeping bags and went to “migdalor” beach to spend the night there. There we met our first hike friend which was traveling alone- Ariel. We woke up to an amazing sunrise at 6 am, and head to the trailhead. The first day was super hard, the road was full of incline and we also brought too much food and had a lot of weight on our bags. I was kinda suprised, i used to do alot of sports back then and it was still super challenging. After few days our bags were less heavy, and we also got used for carrying a lot of weight during the hike, so everything was easier. We met a lot of other travelers in each camp site, which made the experience of the trek insane. Every evening we were sitting near a bonefire with a bunch of people we just met and talking about the things that happened during the day for each group, about life, about opinions. Every evening. without phones distruction, no technology, just a group of people that sit and talk cause they don’t have anything else to do. And it was fucking awesome. During the next 2.5 months i lived the most simple life i could ever think of- woke up early morning (well at least tried), then started to walk with my friend Michal during hours. going thorugh amazing landscapes- from desert, to citys, beaches, mountains and even forests. All i needed to be worried about is if i have enough water, food and if this night is going to be too cold to sleep well. So we kept walking- each day is even more exciting than the day before. meeting new people, suddenly seeing someone we haven’t met since last week, getting stuck without water- later laughting about that. Doing sunset yoga, jumping from waterfalls, sleeping in some rendom couch surfing (people that hosts travelers for free), not wanting this crazy experience to be overed. The trail oficially ends in a place called “Dan”, which is almost the end of the country. but when we arrived there we understood that we wanna fully finish the whole country- so we kept walking for 2 more days to the “Hermon” mountian which is 2000 meters hight and it is the only mountain in israel that have a ski site in the winter (well a tiny one, buy anyway). After those 2 days we arrived to the top. i couldn’t belive it was overed. We took some pictures on the top with some friends we met on the trail. And then took the bus home. I arrived home, my family got accited but didn’t hug me cause i was dirty as a caveman. I went to shower, couldn’t belive i have hot water, used a big towel after i had tiny one for 2.5 months. And started to appreciate all the small things in life that you usually don’t even pay attention for. looking back, this trip was one of the greatest experience i have ever had, it really proved me that you don’t need anything more than basic conditions and friends to be happy and fulfiled. And i can defenitally say it was my first BIG gate to the travel world. Why you should go for the israel national trail! First of all israel is very diverse country in it’s views, which means that in 1200 km you are walking, you are going to see a lot of different landscapes. And DAMN, the views are breathtaking. Desert, forests, mountains, sea, the dead sea, lake, beaches, the city of tel aviv, springs and rivers. So yeah, pretty much everything you can think of. Other then the landscapes, israel is also a diverse country in the community that lives there, if you want a journey that will make you understand the life in israel it’s definitely the best. Not only you are going to meet a lot of travelers which comes from different parts of israel and have different religions, in the trail you also have much of Couchsurfing options that will get you to meet the community from inside by staying in their houses and eat their food. Even though i live in israel, this experience taught me a lot of our community. The third big reason and not the last, you are gonna learn about simplicity. You get used to sleep in a sleeping bag every day for long period, cook your simple food which usually includes oatmeal for the morning, some sandwiches for lunch and rice for the evening. Shower in cold showers or sometimes not shower at all, make the nature you bathroom. And what’s amazing in all of that, that you won’t feel like something is missing, you are gonna be so simple that all you will need to have a great and happy day is some big tree in a dessert full of sun. When i came back home after 2.5 months of hiking and sleeping in the nature, everything was so exciting, the bed, the shower, the bathroom, the gas in the kitchen, the water from the sink that you can drink from all the time, the ventilator, my mom’s food. You appreciate everything much more after this experience. What you need to take? Ok this part is super important, cause if you bring too much stuff you are going to suffer. Pack as simple as you can, take only what you have to take, and everything you bring should be high quality cause then you can only take one of each and not more then that. HIGH QUALITY sleeping bag. It’s obviously more important for the winter, but in general the south part of israel is very cold at night and you want a good quality sleep to have energy for the hike. I would recommend a sleeping bag that fits 1-10 temperatures celsius. Camping matress Hiking boots Walking sticks Sandals or flip flops for the night 2 long hiking shirts 2 hiking pants Long micro fleece shirt Hiking coat rain coat- if you are going on the rainy season Termal shirt and pants 2 pairs of hiking socks 1 pair of thermals socks for the night 4 underwear Swimsuit For girls- 2 sport bras Hiking hat Gloves Scarf Sunscreen Small pot for cooking Gas for cooking Cup Spoon or fork Cutting knife Lighter 3 L water bag (you can drink from bottles but it’s highly recommended) Soap for showering Fast drying small towel Headlight Toilet paper Garbage bags Portable charger Book Camera What food should you take? Rice Oats Apples Peanuts Tahini in box Bread or tortilla Tea bags Salt and pepper for cooking Tuna Energy bars Cabanus I have edit a Youtube video that shows my trail experience, click on the link to wantch! So I highly recommend to go out to this trek, either if you live in israel or if you’re thinking of visiting. If you have any questions you are welcome to email me. Good luck!