Hike in the Holy Land

Arrival to the Holy Land via Ben Gurion International Airport. Go through customs, passport control, and luggage claim. Afterwards meet with your driver in the arrival hall to transfer to your hotel in Jerusalem for check-in and overnight.

After breakfast at your hotel, meet with your driver. Jerusalem occupies a unique place in the world. It is holy to Judaism Christianity, and Islam.    This day’s tour   starts on Mt. Scopus with a panoramic view of the city from the east. Mount Scopus is part of a ridge of mountains that includes the Mount of Olives. Scopus deserves its name as one of the best places to get an overview of Jerusalem especially from the mount’s promenade. Then to Mount of Olives. The Mount of Olives, one of three hills on a long ridge to the east of Jerusalem, is the location of many biblical events. Rising to more than 800 meters, it offers an unrivalled vista of the Old City and its environs.Continue to Garden of Gethsemane. The Garden of Gethsemane, near the foot of the Mount of Olives, named in the New Testament where Jesus went with his disciples to pray the night before he was crucified. In the afternoon, walk into the Old City to see and touch the Western Wall (Wailing Wall), the only one remnant of the Second Temple. Walk the Way of the Cross, the Via Dolorosa, to Calvary and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, housing both the traditional site of Crucifixion and the Tomb of the Resurrection.

After breakfast at your hotel, travel to Bethlehem. Visit of the Church of the Nativity, the Grotto of the Nativity and Chapel of Saint Jerome. The Church of the Nativity is the most important landmark in Bethlehem and marks the site where the nativity took place. It was in Bethlehem just over 2,000 years ago that Mary gave birth to baby Jesus. Today Bethlehem is a thriving city in the Palestinian Authority West Bank approximately 10 km south of Jerusalem and the Nativity Church is the city’s top attraction. Continue to visit the Walled Off Museum. This museum is a part of the Walled Off Hotel. This space enjoys complete autonomy from the rest of the hotel and is organized by the venerated historian and critic Dr. Housni Alkhateeb Shehada. He assembled a permanent collection of significance. Many of the most notable Palestinian artists from the past 20 years are here – including Sliman Mansour with his iconic “And the Convoy Keeps Going.”

In the afternoon, transfer to Battir. The Battir hill landscape comprises a series of farmed valleys, known as widian, with characteristic stone terraces, some of which are irrigated for market garden production, while others are dry and planted with grapevines and olive trees.It is considered one of the last farming villages in Palestine that still uses a unique irrigation system from the Roman times.

Upon arrival to Battir, start your hike to Beit Jala a distance of 5.08 km. Situated on a hill adjacent to Bethlehem, the city of Beit Jala has existed for thousands of years, and its Christian community is one of the oldest in the world.The name ‘Beit Jala’ comes from Aramaic and means, “Grass Carpet”. Anthropological evidence shows that humans have lived in the Bethlehem area since pre-historical times, even as far back as the Stone Age 200,000 years ago. Afterwards, transfer back to Jerusalem for an overnight at your hotel.

After breakfast, meet with your driver. Today’s trail starts in the point just above Saint George Monastery and continues down through the mini canyon of Wadi Qelt all the way to Jericho. The hike takes 2-3 hours, a distance of 7 kilometers, and includes a stop at the Monastery and other resting points on the way including the old ruins of Herod’s winter palace.

Afterwards, transfer to Jericho. It is reputed to be the oldest town on earth, with stories to match. Visit the sycamore tree mentioned in the Biblical tale of Zacchaeus. Stop at Elisha’s spring that supplied Jericho with fresh water for centuries.  View Mount of Temptation and Sycamore tree. Next stop is the Dead Sea beach where you will float in water. The shores of the Dead Sea are the lowest point on the surface of the earth, and the saline water of the lake give lead to the name because no fish can survive in the salty waters.

The other result of the salty water is their renowned health and healing properties and the unique feature that one can float naturally in them. Relax in the mineral rich Dead Sea mud before we head back to Jerusalem in the late afternoon. Overnight in Jerusalem.

After breakfast at your hotel, meet with your guide and driver. Transfer to Taybeh for a visit. Taybeh is a small village located 32 kilometers north of Jerusalem and 13 kilometers northeast of Ramallah.

 A Canaanite village named Afra, meaning “the gazelle” or “the beautiful,” the village’s name was later changed to “Ephraim” in the Roman era, during the time of Christ. Later on, the name was changed again to “Taybeh,” meaning “good” referring to the warm hospitality of its people. Afterwards, continue to Taybeh Brewery for a tour and tasting. Taybeh Brewery is the first microbrewery in the Middle East and the first Palestine Beer since 1994. At the end of your day transfer back to your hotel for an overnight. 

After breakfast at your hotel, meet with your guide and driver. Transfer to Mar Saba for a visit. Mar Saba Monastery, also known as the Great Laura of Saint Sabas, is located 15 kilometers east of Bethlehem and 5 kilometers east of the town of Al-Ubeidiya.  Mar Saba is considered to be one of the oldest continuously inhabited monasteries in the world. Part of the Mar Saba tradition is the exclusion of women visitors. They may only look over the complex from a vantage point called the Women’s Tower. Enjoy a moderate hike of Mar Saba Monastery Loop, it is a distance of 12 kilometers. 

Afterwards, transfer to the Rashaydeh area for an overnight at the Bedouin tents. You will meet the members of a Bedouin community. Their way of life has remained unchanged for millennia but they now find themselves forced to the very margins of society. Share food and stories with the Bedouin family in the tents in the Rashaydeh Desert.  Learn about their cultures and traditions as you have the unique opportunity to spend the night here in the tents.

Check-out and transfer to Ben Gurion Airport for departure. *Must be at the airport 3 hours prior to departure time.

End of the Tour.