Israel National Trail
Map
The Israel National Trail (Hebrew שביל ישראל, Schvil Jisra'el ), short- INT, sometimes only called Israel Trail is a long distance footpath in Israel.
Course
General
The INT extends to a total of 940 km between Dan and Eilat. It runs almost exclusively by Israeli heartland, ie within the limits before 1967. Sole exception is in the area of Latrun. Between Jerusalem and Eilat there are several alternative routes, which can be reduced to about 820 km, the total distance. In addition, the trail can be combined with other migration routes and extend up to the Golan Heights and Mount Hermon. Walking in this area should be logged for security purposes when SPNI.
The INT avoids on his course largely larger towns and cities. Exceptions are, for example, Netanya, where the trail along the coastal promenade runs, or Tel Aviv Yarkon Park. But interesting cities like Safed, Haifa or Jerusalem (eg, the 40 km long trail Jerusalem ) will be reached and explored by public transport or extra trails. Smaller towns are often crossed or touched, so that the supply is secured with water and food from the INT. The Negev is recommended, however, to secure the supply by taxi or services by previously created accounts.
In general, the trail runs along paths of easy and moderate difficulty. In Mount Carmel however, there is some scrambling places where you have to take your hands to help.
The trail can be hiked in either direction, for both principal directions, there are pros and cons. For the description of the south direction is used.
Route
From Kibbutz Dan from the trail runs west to Kiryat Shmona, then at the height of Ramim Mountains to the south of Safed past the Sea of Galilee in Tiberias. Next over to the west over Mount Tabor, to Nazareth and southeast of Haifa in the Carmel Mountains. Along the western edge of Carmel it goes south to Zichron Yaakov, and from there to the west. In Jisr a- Zarka, the trail reaches the Mediterranean Sea and runs near the coast to Tel Aviv. About Ramla and Latrun it runs in an easterly direction to the western suburbs of Jerusalem, then back to Kiryat Gat southwest. From here, in a southeasterly direction to Arad, and in the Negev at Craters Makhtesh Ramon Makhtesh Hagadol and over, at the edge of the Arava Valley along way to Eilat.
Signs
The total of over 10,000 km of hiking trails in Israel are characterized by a uniform Wegzeichensystem. Between two vertical white stripes is a characteristic color of the trails as characteristic colors are red, blue, green, purple, and black. Branches from the trails that lead only to nearby places of interest are marked with two white stripes without characteristic color. These junctions are basically dead ends.
The INT is selected as the only trail by three stripes in orange, blue and white. Therefore, he is also referred to as " TC" (English for triple colored ). Ideally, the strip in a vertical arrangement are mutually offset slightly in height, the protruding upward strips then shows the main direction of the trails on. For the south direction of the orange stripe is above, for the northern direction of the white. For horizontal arrangements mutatis mutandis the overhead strip indicates the main direction. The signs are very good and visible usually placed so that they are hard to miss. However, it may happen in the spring that they are overgrown by plants during the growing season. Good maps is therefore recommended. In Israel topographic hiking maps are available in specialty stores, but only in Hebrew.
In the first years of the INT was only with two colors, blue and orange, marked. The main direction of the trail was even then recognized by projecting stripes, blue for the north and orange for the south direction. The logo was then shown of two interlocking angle in the two colors. The trail is now characterized almost entirely in the new TC system, only very occasionally we can still find old road signs. The old logo, however, is to be found more often on the information boards along the trail.
History
Template for the INT was the Appalachian Trail in the United States. Avraham Tamir (1907 - 1988), a journalist and author who walked the Appalachian Trail in 1971 and became inspired by the idea of setting up a similar distance hiking trail in Israel. In Israel Trails Committee ( ITC) and its director, Ori Devir, he found strong support. In several years of work were surveyed from 1985 guide, hikers, nature conservation officers and nature lovers, and researched suitable routes from a largely pre-existing trail system. On this basis, the INT was developed and applied from 1991. On Passover 1995, fifteen years after the idea of the INT was inaugurated under the presence of the then President Ezer Weizmann.
Already in the year before the official opening Yariv Ya'ari was the first man who wandered the entire INT. For the time over 900 km long distance he needed 21 days. The INT has received over the years more and more popular with hikers, hike today tens of thousands of hikers to INT or parts thereof. It is especially popular among young Israelis who run the entire trail after their military service.
With the expansion of Highway 6 and security risks along the Green Line, part of the INT was moved from the Plain of Sharon out to the Mediterranean coast in 2003. Thus the entire trail length is extended to its present distance of about 940 km.
In 2006, on the occasion of the 100th birthday of Avraham Tamir, whose son Mickey Tamir ran the entire INT.
Is looked after the INT from the Israel Trails Committee ( ITC), a division of the SPNI, which maintains a comprehensive network of over 10,000 km of hiking trails in Israel.
Attractions
Along the INT there are a variety of cultural, geological, botanical, historical and archaeological sites. Often, the trail passes through national parks, some of which are subject to occur. Circumvention of these parks is always possible, but the bypass paths are not always marked with road signs.
A selection of attractions are: Tel Dan, Mount Tabor, Caesarea Maritima, Latrun, Kennedy Memorial, Tel Arad, Makhtesh Ramon, ...
Gallery
Huleebene
Mount Tabor in Galilee
East of Nazareth
Carmel
To the south of Hadera
Aqueduct at Caesarea
Along the beach north of Netanya
Burma Road at Latrun
Jerusalem
Negev
Makhtesh Ramon
Mountains and bay at Eilat