The bicycle has long ceased to be just a means of transportation. Bicycle is a lifestyle. When choosing a place to rest, lovers of cycling often look for a place where you can safely and interestingly ride. In this case, Israel, as a rule, is not considered as an option, since it is widely believed that holidays in Israel are treatment or pilgrimage.
In fact, the bicycle in Israel is extremely popular because of its availability and environmental friendliness. Most of the tourist sites in Israel can be reached by bike. On it, in a relatively short period of time, one can drive around the whole Holy Land.
Climate conditions of the country are also quite favorable for cycling. Tel Aviv is considered to be the most "cycling" city of Israel. The length of bike paths in it is more than 120 kilometers, rental stations are widely distributed, on which anyone can rent a bicycle for a very reasonable price. In the main Mediterranean resort of Israel, Netanya has one of the country's largest bicycle parks, which will appeal to both amateurs and professionals of cycling. Also in the city created special trails that allow students and students to safely ride a bike to the place of employment. Most of the routes are laid out in such a way that the views from the walk are no less picturesque than its main attractions.
Multi-day bike rides among Israelis are no less popular than among tourists. At a distance of 30-40 kilometers from each other on the bike paths there are specially equipped parking areas where you can relax and repair the bike. The route between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, as well as trips along the “Israeli cycle path”, which runs from Hermon mountain to Eilat, are very popular. These routes pass through important cultural sites as well as agricultural land, they are equipped with road signs, overnight stops and drinking water columns. In general, if you wish, you can become a participant in a fairly comfortable and memorable cycle tour.
In Israel, there are cycling routes of different levels of complexity. Among European tourists, the most popular are two:
Bike Tour in Mar Saba
The purpose of this bike tour is to visit the Mar Saba, the largest Orthodox monastery in the Judean desert, one of the oldest in the world, which has been continuously serving for the past 1,500 years. The difficult 35-km route, designed for well-trained cyclists, passes through almost deserted places with wildlife, caves and cliffs.
The beginning of the route is the southern part of the settlement Kidar. Drive through the Judean Desert to be on a dirt road. You can see Mount Muntar and Herodion from afar. In the Kidron gorge, which is crossed by bicycle, there are caves dug in the slopes of hermit monks. Directly to the monastery leads the old paved road. Since the monastery is male, women are not allowed into the territory of the monastery. Men, when visiting the monastery, should be wearing clothes covering their legs.
Cycle Tour in Irodion
A trip to Herodion is a challenging, but very interesting, one-day trip. The route passes through the lands returned by Jordan to Israel in 1967 after 19 years of occupation. By car from Jerusalem to Herodion - the palace complex built by the famous king Herod - can be reached in 15 minutes. The bicycle route with a length of 50 kilometers passes through the desert and is not designed for beginners. Due to the lack of any vegetation in the desert, water sources and taking into account the duration of the trip (about 10 hours), cycling tours to Herodion take place only in winter and spring. The route to the coast of the Dead Sea begins. The road goes up all the time, along the way there are views of the rocks and deep gorges. It is easier to go back, it takes about 3 hours, and before sunset cyclists arrive at the starting point of this route.
A bicycle in Israel is not only the most popular city transport, but also an all-terrain vehicle that can drive on the desert roads, offers a lot of tourist opportunities and gives a comfortable, but extremely interesting and active holiday.
