Sukkot Tours: Returning to the source
The national water company opens its visitors’ centers to the public during the intermediate days of Sukkot - for free. Come introduce yourself to the route that our drinking water takes - beginning in the Kinneret until you open the faucet in your kitchen
How does the water get from the Kinneret to our faucets? You can find the answer to this question during the Sukkot holiday, at one of the three visitors’ centers of the Mekorot Company.
During the intermediate days of Sukkot, Israel’s national water company is opening its visitors’ centers to the public, and invites you to visit and take an educational tour free of charge. The tours will take place on Sunday, September 30 through Tuesday, October 2, between 9:00-15:00. All the activities are free of charge, and must be arranged in advance. The tours are given to groups, but you can check if they will allow individuals into an organized group.
Yarkon Springs Visitors’ Center - the country’s main water intersection
A surprise alongside an adventure awaits visitors to the Yarkon Springs site. Hidden beneath the road that connects Petach Tikva to Rosh Haayin is the main intersection of the pipes, which are responsible for regulating a third of Israel’s water transportation.
The Zohar Lake, the national carrier
The visitor’s center at the station offers a journey following the stream of water through the country, from Dan to Eilat. The tour offers explanations accompanied by a movie about the water sources, and how it reaches the residents. Visitors will also be introduced to the different types of water: fresh water, purified water, sewage water, treated wastewater etc.
During the visit you can take a tour of the historic underground station, which still has huge boat engines. In addition, there is a photo exhibit telling the story of the establishment of Mekorot’s Yarkon-Negev project in the 1950s. At the end of the lecture, there are tours to the Yarkon Springs promenade, which overlooks the lake towards Tel Afek (Antipatris), and the historic Pak-Pak engine erected by Mekorot .
The tour lasts an hour and a half, and must be arranged in advance. For details and reservations: 03-9388961.
Mayim L’yerushalayim
In 1950, after the War of Independence, the Mekorot company opened the Hulda Diesel station, as a temporary underground station to supply water to Jerusalem.
The visitor’s center documents the history of the water supply to Jerusalem, from the British Mandate until today. There is special emphasis given to the Shiloach line - a heroic project through which Mekorot saved Jerusalem from thirst during the War of Independence. At the site, there is also a shaded forest, an observation point, and an underground bunker.
Visits, in groups, must be arranged in advance: 03-9388961.
Atar Sapir Visitor’s Center
The visitors’ center at Atar Sapir is located northwest of the Kinneret. The site offers a summary of a variety of topics: a description of the journey that water takes to reach the faucet, the job of the National Water Carrier and its importance to the water supply system, historical stories connected to the establishment of this national project, and explanations about the water level in the Kinneret and the quality of the water we drink.
The tour is given in front of a model of the national carrier, which illustrates every step and station along the way. Filmstrips about the building of the national carrier, the quality of water, saving water, and more accompany the explanations. The visit includes a tour of the main pump system etched into the mountain, and the four giant pumps, which raises the water in the Kinneret from a level of 209 meters below sea level to 50 meters above sea level.
Free of charge, call for reservations: 04-6714770. The tour lasts an hour and a half.
Chara Lookout
The Chara lookout, which Mekorot established in Nahal Amud, overlooks magnificent scenery. It is the only lookout that crosses the open canal of the national carrier.
Nahal Amud is 150 meters deep, so in order to carry water over these natural obstacles, they hid steel pipes in the sides and bottom of the stream, which created a siphon which operates on the communicating vessel principle - the water flows down one side of the stream and rises again on the other side.
Group visits to the site are free of charge. Advanced notice is required. For details and reservations: 04-6714770. It is a half-hour tour
