Israel – Eco Tourism

ITINERARY

• DAY 1

  Welcome to Tiberias, Israel!

  A representative will meet and assist you through formalities. Transfer to your hotel in Tiberias for dinner and overnight.

  What's included?

  • Dinner
  • Accommodation
  • Transfer
• DAY 2

  Sea of Galilee - Hula Valley - Golan Heights

  Start with an overview of the sacred sites around the Sea of Galilee from the Mount of Beatitudes, where Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount. Next, north to the Hula Valley Nature Reserve, a key stopping-point on the migration routes of over 500 million birds that twice-yearly travel between Africa and Europe. The reserve has wetland trails and blinds to view birds and local animals.
  
  Continue to Gamla Nature Reserve, a beautiful spot in the Golan Heights where the Israeli nature and parks authority is working to conserve the Griffon vulture population. View the dramatic ruins of Gamla, an ancient Jewish city that faced off against Rome, as well as the ruins of a Byzantine village and a lookout over the cliffs where birds of prey soar and nest.
  
  Drive to Alonei Habashan, in the eastern Golan, to view wind turbines and learn from an expert at the site about wind power in Israel. Return to hotel for overnight.

  What's included?

  • Breakfast
  • Accommodation
  • Tour
  • Transfer
• DAY 3

  Nazareth - Galilee - Acre

  The day begins with a visit to Nazareth, the boyhood home of Jesus, to view the Greek Orthodox Church of St Gabriel, built over an ancient spring where tradition says the Angel Gabriel visited Mary. Next to Nazareth Village, where life at the time of Jesus has been recreated.
  
  Continue through the Galilee to Kibbutz Harduf, a collective community based on anthroposophist teachings. It includes an organic food industry and enjoys a special relationship with neighboring Arab communities. Enjoy an organic lunch at the kibbutz restaurant and talk about this unique community.
  
  Then, to the Mediterranean coast to view the historic walled city of Acre. Much of this medieval port is still intact, both above and below ground. Explore the Knights Halls, the impressive Al-Jazar mosque, and the Ethnographic and Folklore Museum built into the Old City walls. Walkthrough the open-air fruit, vegetable, and spice market.
  
  Overnight in the Acre or Haifa areas.

  What's included?

  • Breakfast
  • Lunch
  • Accommodation
  • Tour
  • Transfer
• DAY 4

  Caesarea - Tel Aviv

  Travel through the Mount Carmel range to Caesarea, Herod’s port city, and the Roman regional administrative capital. Walkthrough the impressive remains and visit the ancient aqueduct on a beautiful stretch of the Mediterranean.
  
  Proceed to Yarkon National Park, metropolitan Tel Aviv’s “green lung”, and its two main attractions: Tel Afek, the New Testament’s Antipastris, including an Ottoman-era fortress that overlooks the springs of the River Yarkon; and the wealth of flora and fauna around the river source.
  
  Next, a visit to Hiriya Recycling Park, the centerpiece of Ariel Sharon Park, which at 2,000 acres is one of the largest urban parks in the world. See examples of landfill rehabilitation, harnessing biological sub-systems that reduce the weight of municipal waste by more than 90% and produce biogas to generate electricity. Among the recycling plants, water-lilies, papyrus, and other species thrive in a self-sustaining, biological sewage treatment system. Virtually everything, including the visitor center, which was once a huge compost shed, is recycled.
  
  Overnight in Tel Aviv.

  What's included?

  • Breakfast
  • Accommodation
  • Tour
  • Transfer
• DAY 5

  Jerusalem - Discover the sacred highlights

  A day devoted to Jerusalem’s sacred highlights. Begin with the inspiring view of the holy city from the Mount of Olives and the Garden of Gethsemane. Enter the Old City through Lion’s Gate and, after visiting the Pools of Bethesda and the Church of St Anne, begin a walk in the footsteps of Jesus on the Via Dolorosa, pausing at the Stations of the Cross. The walk includes a visit to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, marking the site of Calvary and Jesus’ Tomb. Continue through the Jewish Quarter to visit the Western Wall, the most sacred spot in the world to Jews.
  
  Overnight in Jerusalem.

  What's included?

  • Breakfast
  • Accommodation
  • Tour
• DAY 6

  Jerusalem (Old and New)

  The day begins with a guided tour, with an ecological focus, of Jerusalem’s Biblical Zoo. The zoo’s main goal is to further the conservation of endangered species and reintroduce captive-born animals to their natural habitat.
  
  Drive to West Jerusalem to the Israel Museum to see the famed Dead Sea Scrolls and the Scale Model of Jerusalem, as it looked in Jesus’ time. Enjoy an afternoon walk in the Judean Hills at Sataf through ancient agricultural terraces and a spring, where grapes, olives, figs, and pomegranates have been grown for thousands of years, and modern-day farmers use organic techniques to cultivate spices and other crops.
  
  In the evening, a guided tour of Jerusalem’s Botanical Gardens. (If weather conditions do not permit, a daytime tour of the Gardens can be substituted.)

  What's included?

  • Breakfast
  • Accommodation
  • Tour
• DAY 7

  Dead Sea - Ein Gedi - Masada

  Drive to the Dead Sea to visit the magnificent Ein Gedi oasis, a green gem in the desert, to walk up to a refreshing waterfall. Visit Kibbutz Ein Gedi botanical garden, with plants and trees from the tropics and other regions.
  
  In the afternoon, ascend by cable car to the famed site of Masada to tour the fortress, the scene of an epic last stand by Jewish rebels against the Romans nearly 2,000 years ago. End the day at the Dead Sea, the saltiest, and the lowest body of water in the world. Renowned for its mineral-rich muds and healing air, it is the largest natural outdoor spa in the world. Overnight in the Dead Sea area.

  What's included?

  • Breakfast
  • Accommodation
  • Tour
• DAY 8

  Makhtesh Ramon - Avdat - Beersheva

  Drive west to the Negev highlands and the geological wonders of Makhtesh Ramon, a huge crater creating a “window” on the Earth’s past. After a stop at the Ramon Visitors’ Center, continue to Avdat, to view the ruins of one the cities built by the Nabateans as a stop along the Incense Route they created from Petra to Gaza. Learn how the inhabitants lived in harmony with the desert by harvesting its meager rainfall to cultivate a host of crops.
  
  Next, visit the Joe Alon Center for Bedouin Culture, near Beersheva. Discover the secrets of the Bedouin lifestyle and its effortless harmony with nature in the past as well as the challenges to its culture in modern times. Drink traditional tea and coffee in a Bedouin tent before heading to Jerusalem.

  What's included?

  • Breakfast
  • Accommodation
  • Tour
• DAY 9

  Jerusalem (Departure)

  Transfer to Ben Gurion Airport for departure. A representative will assist with the formalities.

  What's included?

  • Breakfast
  • Transfer