Israel National Trail

The Israel National Trail starts at Kibbutz Dan, very close to the Israel-Lebanon border. It goes all the way throw the country, reaching it's ending point in the south of Israel, in the city Eilat, on the coast of the Red Sea. The length of the trail is approximately 940 kilometers (580 miles), and takes one and a half to three months to travel if hiked continuously. It is considered one of the biggest non-religious attractions in the country, and is traveled by thousands of people every year, both tourists and locals.

The trail was officially opened in 1994, and except for once in 2003 was not modified since. It was designed to make full use of the nature of Israel as a small country that has many different landscapes. A person traveling trough the whole length of the trail will see along his journey the snowed summit of mount Hermon, hills, sea shores, the Kinneret Lake, the Dead Sea, and even desert cliffs and dunes. The trail does not enter the Israeli-occupied territories of the Golan Heights and the West Bank.

When walking on the trail, it is not uncommon to see people traveling alone. Fact is, many people use the trail as a tool to better their life - the journey gives them time to be alone and think about their life, reflect. They connect with themselves, sometimes find an inner peace that they have been looking for a long time. It is also common for people that meet while traveling to walk together for a few days and separate again. People often say that part of what made the experience so amazing for them was the people they met along the way. On the other side of things, people sometime use their journey to get closer to each other, so it is also common to find fathers hiking with their sons or engaged couples hiking together.

Like with many other long trails, the Israel National Trail developed over time a big network of Trail Angels - people who live near the path of the trail and are willing to help travelers without expecting return. They help in many ways, such as giving travelers a place to sleep or shower, supplying travelers with fresh water, and even by setting buried water supplies along the trail in agreed places.