Desert Treks

10 days just not enough? Enhance your Birthright Israel with Israel Outdoors experience on a DESERT TREKS extension and get 5 extra days hiking through Israel’s most fascinating desert landscapes and exploring the tropical Red Sea!

KEY DETAILS  |  ELIGIBILITY  |  DATES  |  COSTS | ITINERARY  |  TESTIMONIALS | REGISTER

Perfect for outdoor enthusiasts, Desert Treks is a wilderness adventure where travelers learn how to navigate, cook and thrive outdoors –and get 3 nights camping underneath the desert stars! Along the way, you’ll learn about the wonders of desert agriculture, take a scuba diving course in the tropical Red Sea, scale massive sand dunes, and hike through Israel’s spectacular desert terrain.

KEY DETAILS

• Pick-up and drop-off in Tel Aviv
• All meals provided along the way
• A support vehicle delivers your luggage at night
• Designed for active travelers, but you don’t need to be an avid hiker to enjoy this experience

WHO’S ELIGIBLE

• Anyone who will be traveling on a Birthright Israel experience this coming winter/spring
• Anyone who already traveled on a Birthright Israel experience in the last year

DATES

The Desert Treks program begins with a hotel overnight in Tel Aviv and returns to Tel Aviv in the afternoon. Dates subject to availability.

Dec 27 – Dec 31
Jan 3 – Jan 7
Jan 10 – Jan 14
Jan 17 – Jan 21
Jan 31 – Feb 4

NOTE: You are responsible for your own arrangements during the time between the end of your Birthright Israel experience and the start of Desert Treks.

COST

$250

WHAT’S INCLUDED

All Meals
Domestic Transportation
All Programming
Your flight extension when booked in advance (for travelers on a Birthright Israel experience this winter*).

ITINERARY

DAY #1 | Introduction to Israel’s Vast Desert
Pick up from Ruth Daniel Residence in Tel Aviv and travel south
Opening ceremony and intro to the desert at the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies
Evening Program – Orienteering and basic survival skills workshop
Overnight: Camping at Mt. Shchoret Campground

DAY #2 | A Journey’s Beginning
Hike along the Israel National Trail from Shchoret campground through Shchoret Creek to Mt. Shchoret and what is known as the Lost Valley, arriving to Netafim Creek and Netafim Spring
Climb Mt. Yoram to the evening’s campground
Evening Program – cooking in the field workshop
Overnight: Camping at Mt. Yoram

DAY #3 | Geology  of the Desert
Hike Mt. Yoram to Mt. Shlomo, Israel’s highest granite mountain
Along the way, we will see and learn about the area’s beautiful geological phenomena, including the unique plutonic rock found here
Evening Program – drum circle and stargazing
Overnight: Camping at Shlomo Creek

DAY #4 | Walking a 4,000 year old Jewish Journey
Hike from Nahal Gishron through the Gishrom Cliffs and to the Red Sea
Continue through the Eilat Mountains, overlooking the Sinai Desert to the peak of Mt. Tzfahot
Celebrate the desert journey with a swim in the Red Sea and festive BBQ dinner
Evening program -free night in Eilat to explore beach promenade lined with restaurants & bars
Overnight: Hotel in Eilat

DAY #5 | Celebrate the journey at the Red Sea
Scuba diving course in the Red Sea in the world’s northernmost tropical coral reef – two separate courses for unlicensed participants and a guided dive for licensed participants
Final stop at Kasui Sand Dunes – one of the desert’s true wonders
Return to Tel Aviv in the evening for the program conclusion

TESTIMONIALS

REGISTER