With Rosh Hashanah and the fall holiday season approaching, the Israel Nature and Parks Authority is offering a range of activities at national parks and nature reserves across the country, from birdwatching and guided family hikes to kite workshops, ancient mosaics, picnic baskets and nighttime shows.
Here is the list of activities:
NORTH
Hula Nature Reserve: Autumn at Israel’s first nature reserve
Fall marks the beginning of one of the Hula Lake’s great natural spectacles, as tens of thousands of cranes, pelicans, storks and other birds pass through the region during their seasonal migration.
Israel is an important stop along one of the world’s major bird migration routes, and the fertile Hula Lake provides migrating birds with water, food and a place to rest during their long journey.
The reserve offers an easy walking route suitable for families, with open landscapes and observation points overlooking the flocks. Visitors can also stop at Oforia, the reserve’s visitor center, and join a guided tour.
Where: Hula Nature Reserve
When: Saturday, September 12, and Tuesday through Thursday, September 29, September 30 and October 1, at 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m.
Duration: About 90 minutes
Cost: No additional charge beyond admission; free for Matmon pass holders
The activity is weather-dependent. Visitors are advised to check the Israel Nature and Parks Authority website before arriving.
Bet Alfa National Park: Ancient mosaics and an accessible tour
Bet Alfa National Park offers visitors a glimpse into the life of a Jewish village from the Talmudic period and is particularly known for the remarkably well-preserved mosaic floor of its ancient synagogue.
Among the mosaic’s most striking features is a colorful zodiac wheel. A film screened inside the synagogue tells the story of the mosaic and its discovery.
Families can also take part in independent activities, including a booklet devoted to the secrets of the mosaic, zodiac-themed games and mosaic workshops.
The site is accessible to visitors with limited mobility. The synagogue is covered and air-conditioned, and the park has parking, picnic tables, restrooms and a visitor service center.
Where: Bet Alfa National Park, Kibbutz Heftziba
When: Saturday, September 12, at 11 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m.
Duration: About one hour
Cost: No additional charge beyond admission; free for Matmon pass holders
The activity is weather-dependent. Visitors are advised to check the park's website before arriving.
Kochav HaYarden National Park: A day of birds and kites
The fall migration season is underway, and Kochav HaYarden National Park sits along one of the region’s major migration corridors.
For Rosh Hashanah, visitors are invited to watch migrating birds pass above the Jordan Valley and learn about Israel’s role along their journey.
Families can also take part in a kite workshop, building and decorating their own kite inspired by the birds overhead before sending it into the wind above the valley.
Kochav HaYarden National Park
(Yaniv Cohen / Israel Nature and Parks Authority)
Each family that registers in advance receives one kite free of charge. Additional kites, as well as kites for visitors who did not register in advance, can be purchased at the visitor service center.
The site will also offer games and activities devoted to birds and migration.
Where: Kochav HaYarden National Park
When: Sunday, September 13. Kite station from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; guided tours at 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m.
Cost: No additional charge beyond admission; free for Matmon pass holders
The activity is weather-dependent. Visitors are advised to check the Israel Nature and Parks Authority website before arriving.
CENTRAL ISRAEL
Beit Guvrin National Park: Picnic baskets in nature
Visitors to Beit Guvrin can combine the park’s archaeological and natural attractions with a preordered picnic basket among its oak and carob trees and prickly pear plants.
A picnic package for four costs 270 shekels and includes a 750-ml bottle of Tabor Winery rosé, four wine glasses, a corkscrew, 180 g of Manchego cheese, 280 g of feta cheese, 190 g of pesto, four garlic breads and a 250-g jar of olives.
A picnic basket, ice bucket and checkered picnic blanket are available on loan in exchange for a valid ID.
A package for two costs 140 shekels and includes a 750-ml bottle of rosé, two wine glasses, a corkscrew, Manchego cheese, olives, pesto and crackers.
Packages should be ordered online in advance and collected from the visitor service center. Picnics may be held in designated areas throughout the national park.
Where: Bet Guvrin National Park
When: Daily during the park’s regular opening hours
Cost: Additional charge beyond park admission
The activity is weather-dependent. Visitors are advised to check the Israel Nature and Parks Authority website before arriving.
Beit Guvrin National Park: ‘The Eighth Sound’ inside the Bell Caves
Israeli musician Ehud Banai and video artist Ronen Tancum have created “The Eighth Sound,” a video-and-sound installation staged inside Beit Guvrin’s Bell Caves.
The exhibition combines new arrangements of Banai’s songs with Tanhum’s video work in a sensory journey centered on memory, birth and consciousness.
The idea draws on the symbolism of seven musical notes and seven days in nature, asking what may lie beyond familiar boundaries of time and perception.
At the heart of the installation is an imagined return to humanity’s earliest experience, the nine months spent in the womb. Various traditions, the exhibition notes, describe pregnancy as a period in which the unborn child possesses knowledge that is forgotten at birth, turning life itself into a process of rediscovery.
Beit Guvrin National Park: ‘The Eighth Sound’ exhibition
(Studio 4040)
Banai’s familiar songs were rerecorded in new arrangements especially for the exhibition. It also includes a special version of “Wrapped in Mercy,” which he wrote after being inspired by an ultrasound during the pregnancy with his eldest daughter.
Artistic director: Yair Moss. Curator: Hillie Wurtman Moyal. Project manager: Carmi Wurtman.
Where: Beit Guvrin National Park, Bell Caves complex
When: In September, Thursdays and Saturday nights except September 12 and 26, as well as during the intermediate days of Sukkot; in October, Thursdays and Saturday nights except October 3; in November, Thursdays and Saturday nights
Exhibition duration: About 35 minutes. The entire visit, including the Bell Caves, takes about 75 minutes
After dark, access to the national park is limited to the Bell Caves complex.
Cost: Additional charge beyond regular admission
The activity is weather-dependent. Visitors are advised to check the Israel Nature and Parks Authority website before arriving.
Yarkon National Park, Tel Afek: Rosh Hashanah wish tree
Families can welcome the Jewish New Year by creating wishes and blessings for themselves, others and nature.
Participants will make a hanging mobile and add wishes for a happy and sweet new year, or any other message they choose.
Yarkon National Park, Tel Afek: Rosh Hashanah wish tree
(Ziv Zaguri / Israel Nature and Parks Authority)
Where: Yarkon National Park, Tel Afek complex
When: Sunday, September 13, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Cost: No additional charge beyond admission; free for Matmon pass holders
The activity is weather-dependent. Visitors are advised to check the Israel Nature and Parks Authority website before arriving.
Yarkon National Park, Tel Afek: Follow the flowering sea squill trail
Families and groups of friends can explore Tel Afek’s sea squill trail independently on Saturdays throughout September.
Visitors receive an activity sheet from park volunteers before setting off along the trail, where a series of tasks encourages children to examine the flowering plants and learn more about them and the path.
Where: Yarkon National Park, Tel Afek complex
When: Saturdays, September 5, 12, 19 and 26, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Cost: No additional charge beyond admission; free for Matmon pass holders
The activity is weather-dependent. Visitors are advised to check the Israel Nature and Parks Authority website before arriving.
En Hemed National Park: A family walk through water, trees and Crusader history
En Hemed National Park offers a guided family tour combining water, vegetation and history in a tranquil setting along the Kisalon Stream.
The route follows flowing water past orchard trees and towering plane trees, with visitors listening to the stream and exploring a Crusader-era building.
Guides will point out the massive stones characteristic of Crusader construction and the marks left behind by the stonemasons who worked on them.
Where: En Hemed National Park
When: Saturday, September 12, and Sunday through Tuesday, September 27-29, at 10 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.
Duration: About one hour
Cost: No additional charge beyond admission; free for Matmon pass holders
The activity is weather-dependent. Visitors are advised to check the Israel Nature and Parks Authority website before arriving.
WEST BANK
Einot Tzukim Nature Reserve: Guided tours of the hidden reserve
Einot Tzukim, near the Dead Sea, invites visitors to explore the wildlife and vegetation of an oasis at the lowest place on Earth.
The reserve also offers wading pools and picnic areas.
Guided tours introduce visitors to the distinctive plants and animals that survive in this desert environment.
Where: Einot Tzukim Nature Reserve
When: Friday, September 11, Rosh Hashanah eve, at 10 a.m. and noon; September 12-13, 18-19 and 25-26 at 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m.; September 27 through October 1, during the Sukkot holiday period, every hour from 10 a.m. through 2 p.m.
Cost: Registration required. No additional charge beyond admission; free for Matmon pass holders
The activity is weather-dependent. Visitors are advised to check the Israel Nature and Parks Authority website before arriving.
SOUTH
Masada West National Park: From sunset to sunrise
Masada’s nighttime show transforms the mountainside into the backdrop for a large-scale audiovisual production beneath the desert sky.
The show uses video mapping, large-scale projections, advanced lighting and an original soundtrack composed by Israeli musician Shlomo Gronich.
Visitors are advised to arrive at least an hour before the performance. As the sun sets, several preliminary installations offer additional perspectives on the story of Masada.
The show lasts about 45 minutes.
Parents should note that the production includes dramatized and animated scenes depicting violence during the war between the Romans and Jews that culminated in the capture of Masada. The show is recommended for ages 10 and older.
Access to the nighttime performance is from Arad via Route 3199. It cannot be reached from Masada’s eastern entrance on the Dead Sea side. The drive from the Dead Sea area to the show takes about an hour.
Visitors may also combine the performance with an overnight stay at the Masada West campground.
Where: Masada West National Park, accessed from Arad via Route 3199
When: September 1, 3, 8, 10, 22, 24, 28, 29 and 30 at 8:30 p.m.
Cost: Advance registration through the Israel Nature and Parks Authority website is required; Matmon pass holders receive a 25% discount
The activity is weather-dependent. Visitors are advised to check the Israel Nature and Parks Authority website before arriving.