Jesus Trail Guidebook Now Available for Purchase
Posted on March 19, 2010
We are very pleased to announce that Walking the Jesus Trail and Other Biblical Walks in the Galilee is available for pre-order at www.jesustrailguide.com
You can order now for $29.95, and the book will be shipped to you hot off the press! As an incentive to order early, we’re offering FREE shipping from Israel to anywhere in the USA, Canada or Europe if you order before Easter (April 4, 2010)! Other countries will receive $5 shipping. We use Google Checkout for secure financial transactions, and ship via Air Mail from Israel. Your purchase directly supports the ongoing work of the trail.
Along with your order, we will send a FREE map of the Jesus Trail with handy quick references for accommodations, transportation and more!
If you’re coming to Nazareth soon, you can reserve a copy of the guide to pick up at the Jesus Trail office. If you live in a country with an unreliable postal service, this may be your best option.
Buy online at: http://www.jesustrailguide.com
Thank you for your interest in the Jesus Trail! We hope to see you on the trail soon!
Anna Dintaman and David Landis
Village to Village Press, Jesus Trail
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Jesus Trail and Hiking in Israel Presentations at REI Stores in Philadelphia Area
Posted on January 16, 2010
Hiking in Israel Event at REI Conshohocken, PA and Marlton, NJ, USA!
Come out to REI to discover outdoor adventure opportunities in Israel, a tiny country with a big history and a huge network of hiking and mountain biking trails! Israel offers a host of outdoor opportunities for the trekker, pilgrim and historian, including:
- The Israel Trail, a 600-mile cross-country sojourn from desert to snow-capped peak
- The Golan Trail, 80 solitary miles through lush and hotly-contested landscape=
- The Jesus Trail, 40 miles of spiritual history in the Galilee region
About the Presenters:
David Landis and Anna Dintaman have been adventuring and trekking in the Middle East for over two years, working with responsible tourism and writing a guidebook to the Jesus Trail. They will bring insight into trekking tourism in Israel, anecdotes and stories from the trails, and reflection on the positive role adventure tourism can play in bridging relationships between diverse cultures and religions.
Dates:
February 4, 2010 at REI Marlton, 7pm
February 9, 2010 at REI Conshohocken, 7pm
Price:
FREE!
Facebook Event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=251206327790
Check out:
http://israeltrail.org
http://jesustrail.com
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Free Jesus Trail Map Available
Posted on December 9, 2009
We are very excited to have a free map of the Jesus Trail available for hikers! Finally, we have a map in English to hand out to help walkers find what they need and plan their itinerary.
Click here to view and download the free Jesus Trail Map (PDF)
The map features:
- Practical information about where to sleep, buy food and supplies, get water, catch a bus, etc.
- Descriptions of points of interest
- Elevation chart with distances and difficulty ratings
- Description of how to use Jesus Trail markings for navigation
- List of accommodations contact info, price and amenities
- Chart of bus numbers and schedules
If you would like us to mail this free map to your home address, send us an email to freemap@jesustrail.com.
Many thanks to our generous sponsors who helped to make this map possible!
Jesus Trail Free Map Sponsors:
Fauzi Azar Inn
Al Mutran Guest House
ILH Hostel Guide
Abraham Path
BLESS—Biblical Lands Educational Seminars and Service
Jerusalem University College
Nazareth Village
Go Eco Volunteer Program
Shavit’s Family B&B Arbel
VeloIsrael
Kibbutz Lavi
Moshav Zippori B&B
Tiberias Hotel Association
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Nazareth Mountain Bikers Club rides the Jesus Trail
Posted on November 28, 2009
Nine riders from the Nazareth Mountain Bikers club recently rode the length of the Jesus Trail, becoming the first group to travel the entire trail by bike. The club organizes weekly rides through Facebook, exploring various regions of the Galilee and Israel. They are happy to answer questions and help travelers with information on mountain biking in the Nazareth area.
The ride shows that it is possible to mountain bike the Jesus Trail route, with only short sections where it is necessary to walk or carry the bike. For a list of these sections, visit the mountain biking thread on the Jesus Trail Forum (see below). The new guidebook will also describe the biking alternatives.
“The only way to define your limits is going beyond them”
- Nazareth Mountain Bikers
View photos from the ride on Jesus Trail’s Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=125674&id=64330873837&l=6ffe7ab93d
Mountain Biking thread on the Jesus Trail Forum: http://forum.jesustrail.com/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=10
Visit Nazareth Mountain Bikers on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#/pages/Nazareth-Israel/Nazareth-Mountain-Bikers/148863526218?ref=ts
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“Clean Up the World Day” on the Jesus Trail
Posted on November 22, 2009
On November 9, 2009, international volunteers and hundreds of local school children picked up trash along the Jesus Trail as part of “Clean Up the World Day,” sponsored by the Jewish National Fund.
Middle School students from public schools in Nazareth, Cana and Mash’had thronged the streets of their towns armed with trash bags and gloves to clean up their neighborhoods. International volunteers from the US, Russia, South Africa and Germany participated as well, forging friendships with the enthusiastic and curious children.
Trash is a major environmental problem in Israel, where over 90% of the country’s waste is buried in landfills, which are reaching maximum capacity. Only about 5% of Israel’s waste reaches recycling facilities.
The Jesus Trail and Jewish National Fund plan to make this trash pickup activity a monthly ritual, hoping to instill in these youth a sense of pride in caring for the environment and making the Jesus Trail a clean and pleasant place for locals and international visitors alike.
View photos from the Clean Up the World Day on Jesus Trail’s Facebook Page by clicking the link below (even if you are not a Facebook member):
Photos: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=124511&id=64330873837&l=47d0467841
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Jesus Trail visits the Abraham Path in Israel’s Negev
Posted on October 25, 2009
Jesus Trail representatives participated the inauguration of a section of the Abraham Path in the Negev Desert October 20-22. The Abraham Path, a long-distance cultural path underway in the region, was initiated by Harvard University’s Global Negotiation Project to recreate the journey of Abraham, father of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, leaving his homeland of Ur to his final resting place in Hebron. The path will begin in Harran, Turkey and connect significant cultural sites through Syria, Jordan, the Palestine and Israel, with future dreams of expanding into Iraq, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
So far the project has been selecting and developing small sections of the route in each country along it. Each country team is working separately on their segment of the path, in parallel, but not in cooperation with each other. Trail sections in Turkey, Jordan, and Palestine have already been inaugurated. The project is working to promote economic development and ecological preservation along the trail, as well as to foster mutual respect between the Abrahamic faiths centered around the shared common narrative of Abraham.
As part of the inauguration, a delegation walked a small portion of the trail near the south Hebron hills, ending in the Bedouin town of Derijat. The group also visited important archeological sites associated with Abraham, such as Tel Arad and Tel Be’er Sheva, lead by the renowned archeologist Avner Goren. The program featured a stroll through Be’er Sheva River Park, a huge green area being developed as part of a renaissance of Be’er Sheva as a tourist destination.
The delegation met with some of the unique and diverse people of the Negev, including the Cochin community of Jews from India, who trace their ancestry back to one of the ten lost tribes of Israel, as well as a group of Ethiopian Jewish women potters, who create and sell beautiful traditional clay sculptures. The group also heard from a young Bedouin woman realizing her dream of creating a line of cosmetics made of natural local ingredients.
Jesus Trail representatives enjoyed learning more about the Abraham Path and comparing notes with a project that connects to similar goals.
Check out the Abraham Path web site for more information about how you can be involved or walk a portion of the trail: www.abrahampath.org
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Updated Jesus Trail Route v3.0
Posted on April 27, 2009
An updated Jesus Trail route and GPS file (v3.0) is now on the website at: http://jesustrail.com/route-sections-v30.
This route includes the following improvements:
- Adjustments for the newly blazed orange route from Nazareth to Golani junction
- More direct route from Nazareth to Zippori with a stoplight crossing of Rt. 79
- More scenic route from Cana to Golani junction on the top or the ridge with great views to the north and south
- Increased number of footpaths
- Full Google Earth files and GPS tracks for the return loop (Arbel, Tiberias, Yardenit, Tel Rekhesh, Mt. Tabor, Mt. Deborah, Mt. Precipice, Nazareth), 76.1km.
- All GPS tracks are now under 500 points per section for improved compatibility with older GPS units (in response to user feedback)
- Small route improvements around Cana, Kibbutz Lavi, and the Arbel Valley
- Increased lodging and transportation options on the route including a great new guesthouse in Cana and camping area at Golani Junction
- Additional sites in the surrounding area stored as waypoints, which may be used for side trips or to navigate by bike or car. Hiking routes to these sites are in the works…
- The Jesus Trail route network v3.0 now includes a total of 138.1 km.
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Blazing the Jesus Trail: Marked Pilgrimage Route Brings Hikers to the Galilee
Posted on April 5, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nazareth, Israel, April 1, 2009— One year ago, the Jesus Trail, a Galilee pilgrimage hiking route, con-
sisted of little more than a track of GPS points and an idea. Now, just one year later, the Society for the
Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI) is marking the trail with painted blazes, hundreds of diverse hikers
have come to hike the trail, and locals are launching business initiatives in preparation for an increase in
hikers.
Developed by local hostel owner and tourism developer Maoz Inon and outdoor adventure specialist
David Landis, the trail offers an alternative for travelers and pilgrims to experience the steps of Jesus
in a way that is authentic, adventurous and educational by trekking through the rugged and beautiful
landscape of the Galilee the same way that Jesus did—by foot.
Painted blazes have already been added to 30 kilometers of the 65-kilometer trail, with plans to com-
plete the blazing by the Pope’s visit to Nazareth in May. The Society for the Protection of Nature in Is-
rael is marking the trail using the Israeli blaze system and will include the trail on future official hiking
maps of the region. “This is the first trail in Israel that has been blazed with foreign trekkers in mind,
and our first historic long-distance trail,” said Gili Greenbaum, Marking Coordinator for SPNI. “Mark-
ing the trail serves both to improve accessibility to hikers and also to limit environmental impact to one
path,” added Greenbaum.
As word spread about the trail in the past year, over 300 hikers have made their way to Nazareth to
hike all or a portion of the trail. Many are taking advantage of free guiding on the first day of the trail
provided by volunteers in Nazareth. An experienced pilgrimage hiker from South Africa came to expe-
rience the feel of the land and visit historical sites of the beaten track. One pastor from England came
to pray from the high points of the trail. A group of four hiked the trail as part of a much larger trek
from Germany to Israel. A conservative Mennonite family hiked the first day of the trail with their six
children, including a 3-year-old. After running half the trail in one day, an American man reflected that
his experience was, “quite surreal as [his] mind often drifted to the religious history [he] learned from
the Bible.”
Hikers experience the diversity of the Galilee and rich hospitality of local culture. A group of six
American volunteers camping near a bedouin village had a surprise evening visit from a local man who
brought them food and dry firewood. Many locals have been supportive of the project, including Abu
Yusuf, a resident of the Arab village of Meshhed, who was eager to welcome hikers into his home.
Daniella Fields, an Israeli trailblazer for SPNI, met two little boys calling themselves, “the kings of
Meshhed” as she painted blazes through their town. One of them helped her to carry her painting sup-
plies. As she left town she thanked him for letting her “paint in [his] kingdom.” As a Jewish Israeli,
Fields commented, “There’s so much I don’t know about the different people in my own country.”
In addition to giving hikers the opportunity for a unique experience, the trail serves as an economic
stimulus for local businesses. In Cana, several family-run bed and breakfasts have sprung up in re-
sponse to the need for hiker accommodations. New restaurants opened in the old city of Nazareth to
provide for the influx of pilgrims. The slower-paced travel of hiking ensures that pilgrims will patronize
local businesses for food, accommodations and other necessities along way. With the marking of the
trail already underway, hopes are high that the number of Jesus Trail hikers will continue to rise.
Jesus Trail hiker Richard Stetenga wrote, “The good thing about this trail is that it combines visiting
some important religious sites with natural beauty. It gave me some time to reflect on things that hap-
pened there long ago, and their meaning now, for me.”
The Jesus Trail Web site—www.jesustrail.com— provides links to tour operators and features informa-
tion on the religious and geographic sites, accommodations and food, and general resources on hiking
the region.
The Jesus Trail is a 65-kilometer hiking trail connecting sites from the life and ministry of Jesus. The
entire Jesus Trail can be walked in 3-5 days, or any section can be walked as a day hike using public
transportation. Travelers can camp out or stay in a variety of accommodations, ranging from simple
dorms to five star hotels. The trail begins in Nazareth, the boyhood home of Jesus, and continues to the
Sea of Galilee by way of Zippori, Cana, the Horns of Hattin and Arbel Cliffs. Around the Sea of Galilee
the trail connects Tabgha, the church of the Primacy of St. Peter, Capernaum, and the Mount of Beati-
tudes. An optional return loop connects back to Nazareth via Tiberias, the Jordan River, Mount Tabor
and Mount Precipice. More information is available at http://jesustrail.com.
High resolution images available for download at: http://jesustrail.com/downloads/jesus_trail_press_photos.zip. These images are intended only for press purposes and may not be used for commercial reasons of any kind.
For further details contact:
David Landis
david@jesustrail.com
+972-52-6284582
Maoz Inon
maoz@jesustrail.com
972-54-4322352
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Goodwill Walk from Capernaum to Jerusalem Utilizes Jesus Trail and Nativity Trail
Posted on March 16, 2009
Beginning March 15, 2009, a group of four people will be walking through the Holy Land from Capernaum to Jerusalem. They will starting where Jesus based his Ministry, in Capernaum on the Sea Galilee, and travel to Nazareth to Nazareth, where he was brought up. From Nazareth they will continue south through the Palestinian Territories to Jerusalem, the place of his passion & resurrection.
The group is organized by Paul Sullivan of the United Kingdom, who states the purpose of the Goodwill Walk as “bringing people of different backgrounds together by the simple means of walking. The name ‘Goodwill’ was chosen because this is what is needed for people of different backgrounds to get along with each other.”
The route of the Goodwill Walk links the Jesus Trail (pioneered by Maoz Inon, David Landis) which runs from Nazareth to Capernaum with the Nativity Trail, replicating Mary & Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem. In 2000 the Alternative Tour Group re-started the Nativity Trail route traveling to Jerusalem via Jericho. In December 2008 BBC journalist Aleem Maqbool walked the nativity route with a donkey. However, he walked due south from Nazareththrough Ramallah & Jerusalem to Bethlehem.
Follow the group’s progress on their blog at: http://www.goodwillwalk-jesusway.blogspot.com/
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Jesus Trail Press Release: Free Daily Walks Offered on Jesus Trail
Posted on December 30, 2008
For Immediate Release:
Free Daily Walks Offered on Jesus Trail
by Anna Dintaman
December 28, 2008, Nazareth, Israel– The Jesus Trail, a 65-kilometer (40-mile) hiking trail through the Galilee stomping ground of Jesus, will soon be more accessible to hikers and pilgrims hoping to walk where Jesus walked. Starting December 15, volunteers began leading hikers in a free daily walk on the first day of the Jesus Trail itinerary.
Each day hikers will meet at the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth to walk to Zippori National Park and the town of Cana. Zippori NP houses some of the most exquisite Byzantine mosaics in the world, and grants a glimpse into the upper-class world in the Galilee from the time of Jesus up until the Crusader era.
The traditional site of Jesus’ first miracle where he turned water into wine, Kfar Cana, offers several churches commemorating the miracle replete with a massive stone jar thought to be the receptacle for the miraculous wine. And for those unable to make their own wine from water, local stores have ample varieties for sale. Some visitors choose to renew their wedding vows at the Wedding Church of Cana.
Hikers can return to Nazareth via bus or continue on the trail on their own. Overnight home stays are available in the town of Kfar Cana for those continuing on the trail or simply looking for a unique opportunity to experience local culture and food. The tours will be lead by members of a group of American volunteers serving in Nazareth at the Fauzi Azar Inn.
The walk is approximately 18 kilometers (12 miles). Depending on pace and fitness levels, walkers should expect to walk 5-7 hours, not including breaks and time to view the sites. There is a brief steep ascent out of Nazareth, but the rest of the trail is even with good walking surface. The walk is free and open to anyone; Zippori NP has an entrance fee of 18 shekels for Jesus Trail hikers (25% discount), and the bus from Cana to Nazareth costs 6 shekels.
###
For further details contact:
Maoz Inon
+972-52-4322352
maoz@jesustrail.com
Volunteer Coordinator
+972-54-4361357
freewalks@jesustrail.com
The Jesus Trail is a 65-kilometer hiking trail linking sites in the Galilee from the life of Jesus. The trail was initiated in 2007 by Israeli entrepreneur Maoz Inon and American outdoor specialist David Landis. The trail begins in Nazareth and stretches to Capernaum on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. An optional return loop passes over Mt. Tabor and returns to Nazareth. GPS data for the trail, as well as other hiking resources, can be found at http://www.jesustrail.com.
The Fauzi Azar Inn is a 200-year-old Arab mansion-turned-guesthouse that offers dorm and private rooms in a unique old world atmosphere. Touted by Lonely Planet 2007 as “one of the highlights of a stay in the Galilee” and a “great base for touring major sites of the Galilee,” the Fauzi Azar offers a laid-back atmosphere where guests and staff can meet to share stories and tips. More info at http://fauziazarinn.com.
An informative printable flyer is available for download in PDF format at http://jesustrail.com/downloads/jesustrail_flyer_freewalks.pdf.
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