City: Israel
Top Things to do in Israel
Top Hotels in Israel
- 1. Royal Beach Tel - Aviv
- 2. Dan Eilat Hotel
- 3. Fabric Hotel Tel Aviv - an Atlas Boutique Hotel
- 4. Jerusalem International YMCA, Three Arches Hotel
- 5. Isrotel Dead Sea Hotel & Spa
- 6. 65 Hotel Rothschild Tel Aviv - An Atlas Boutique Hotel
- 7. The American Colony Hotel
- 8. Shalom Hotel & Relax Tel Aviv - an Atlas Boutique Hotel
- 9. Oasis Spa Club Hotel
- 10. Port and Blue TLV Suites Hotel
Top 10 Forests in Israel, Israel
Coordinates: 31°N 35°E / 31°N 35°E / 31; 35
Restaurants in Israel
1. Biriya Forest
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 25 reviews
Reviewed By jsavElizabeth
This is one of the largest forests in Israel (if not THE largest). It is right outside of Tzfat and there is a lot to do there. There is a lovely walking promenade, a driving route that is scenic that goes from Tzfat to Dalton, an ancient synagogue, springs, horseback riding at Bat Ya'ar, and hiking. You cannot beat the views from the Biria Forest.
2. Shoham Forest Park
3. The Majrasa
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 32 reviews
Reviewed By IndigoGrrl - Ness Ziona, Israel
You can't get any more water on your water hike than t Majrasa: The stream *is* the trail. You wade/swim through the beautiful Majrasa/Daiyot stream. It starts off as a narrow shaded wading stream and widens out into lovely wide open pools perfect for swimming. Bring a lunch and relax afterwards at one of the many tables in the shady olive tree groves along the banks.
4. Nahal Hashofet
5. Beeri Forest
6. Nahal Ktalav
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 5 reviews
Reviewed By RaphaelB815
Nahal Ktalav My wife and I live south of Jerusalem and we are always looking for scenic, slightly challenging, circular forest walk accessible by public transportation. Nahal Ktalav fit the bill perfectly. The public 192 bus (of the "Superbus" company) leaves for Nahal Ktalav from the Jerusalem International Convention Center (Binyanei HaUma). It travels south through Jerusalem, stops at the Tunnels Road, where we picked it up, and turns west at the Beitar exit. Fifty minutes after Binyanei HaUma, it passes Nes Harim Junction, which is where you get off. Ask the driver which stop to wait at to return to Jerusalem. After we got off the bus, we walked in the direction of the bus for three minutes, and made a right turn at the sign to Nahal Ktalav. There we found water and public restrooms and a Parks Bureau information desk. The desk was not manned when we were there, but there is a tavern on the site (not kosher, open on Shabbat) and staff from the tavern showed us where the trail began, to the right of the tavern/information center on a white, unpaved road. There are a number of different hiking trails to choose from. We had chosen the six kilometer circular trail recommended in a Hebrew hiking site, The restaurant worker said it was a three hour walk, but my wife and I took four hours on it, not including a half hour to eat a meal. We are healthy, in our early sixties. We each had with us 3 liters of water on our backs, plus a few meals, and for us the water, at least, was a must. We also had sturdy shoes, and that, too, was important. I wouldn't wear sandals. During our walk, three men in their mid-twenties ran by us, without water or hats, and disappeared almost before we could say hello, so there may be other perspectives on this besides ours. We saw no one else during that 4.5 hours, but we heard voices at one point, and saw a truck on a very distant road. We have taken many hikes in the forests in and around Jerusalem. This was one of the most beautiful. We took about thirty pictures. "Nahal Ktalav" means "Arbutus Brook". There are thousands of arbutus trees and bear oaks as you walk through the forest. The leaves of the arbutus trees, and the trunks, turn a beautiful red at some times of the year. At the bottom of the ravine is a dry brook, or "wadi", part of which briefly becomes a river when the rains fall in the winter. It was a beautiful but challenging hike. You wouldn't bring a three-year-old with you. Maybe a mature eight-year-old could handle it, with close supervision. Starting on a trail marked in black, we descended into a deep valley. Then for a while we walked through the forest horizontally on a trail marked in blue. On this blue trail, there was occasionally a steep precipice to our right descending into the valley. Finally we had an hour of challenging rock climbing, along a trail marked in green, to return to the top of the forest. We did this slowly, resting every once in a while. It was not easy for us, but doable, a reasonable challenge, and no ropes were needed. At the top we came to a jeep trail. Turning left, we walked along the jeep trail, again marked in black, returning after a half-an- hour to the start of our circular trail. We highly recommend Nahal Ktalav for its beauty, but advise a bit of caution. The entire experience cost us about eight dollars all together for bus tickets.
7. Nahal Sfunim
8. Jerusalem Forest
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 19 reviews
Reviewed By YitzchakMiskin - Ramat Gan, Israel
The Jerusalem Forest, also affectionately and biblically known as “The Jerusalem Mountains” - where King David hiked, sat and meditated as he wrote the Biblical Psalms, is a national treasure of wild nature, rugged mountains, challenging hiking trails, and of course, Biblical views, despite the massive, politically and criminally motivated forest fires which plague this and all forests of Israel each and every year. It is a virtual Garden of Eden for us nature lovers, stretching westward from the western border of Jerusalem towards the Mediterranean Sea until dropping off into the wide-open plains of Dan, the park offers a choice of world-class hikes and views, such as the Sataf Nature Trail (see my Tripadvisor review), including the Sataf Spring and ancient village, the village of Ein Kerem (see my Tripadvisor review), Mount Tayasim, Yad Kennedy and Mount Aminadav, The Sheik’s Tomb and Mount Giora, Samson Ridge and Caves, the Sorek Stream, the Refaim Stream, the Lavan Spring, and much, much more. A visit to the Jerusalem Forest/Jerusalem Mountains is a MUST for any SERIOUS nature lover!
