In case you didn’t get to do as much as you planned, there are still a couple of days left to enjoy the holiday and plenty of marvelous programs on offer this year.
By MEITAL SHARABIKfar Blum Kayaks(photo credit: YOSSI ALONI)
The end of Passover is just around the corner. Like most Israelis, you’ve probably spent most of the week running from one attraction to another and getting together with lots of friends.In case you didn’t get to do as much as you planned, there are still a couple of days left to enjoy the holiday and plenty of marvelous programs on offer this year. Here is a list of some of the best options.KFAR BLUM KAYAKSAfter a long winter full of rain, the many streams in northern Israel are gushing with water, and kayaking season has officially begun. Kfar Blum Kayaks has officially opened its doors to visitors, who’ve been waiting all winter to float down the Jordan River, and two-person and family boats are available for rent. In addition, you can enjoy a few hours at the Top-rope Adventure Park on site, where you can try out the zip line, climbing wall, archery and multi-sensory cinema.If you’re a camping enthusiast, you’ll be happy to know that the Blum Village camping site will be open for the last weekend of the holiday. Guests can rent air-conditioned tents or bring their own tents.Price: Per person on a family boat, NIS 100Date: Hol Hamoed 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.Location: Kfar Blum Kayaks, Upper GalileeMOUNT HERMONAlthough the winter is over, this is still a great time to visit the ski site on Mount Hermon. You can enjoy the last few remnants of snow left over from the last snow storm and ride up on the ski lift or take a turn on the extreme sleds. You can also take your chances on the Sky Rider Rollercoaster or slide down the mountain on inner tubes. In addition, there will be a special Passover Find the Afikoman in the Snow activity in honor of the holiday and a Treasure Hunt in the snow on the upper level.
Price: Entrance to site is free of charge. Rides require a fee.Date: April 26 & 27, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.Location: Hermon Ski SiteDetails: 1-599-550-560FRIENDS OF ZION MUSEUM The Friends of Zion Museum will be commemorating Passover with a special holiday exposition with 14 displays for the whole family, including exhibits of advanced technologies that touch on the motifs of the Passover holiday, such as the exodus from Egypt, the Ten Plagues, the Four Cups, and matzah. Visitors can join a 60-minute guided tour that will take you throughout the museum, or listen to a self-guided tour in 16 languages.Price (until April 27): Family ticket (2 adults + 3 kids), NIS 100Location: 20 Yosef Rivlin Street, JerusalemSALAD TRAIL TOURAt Moshav Talmei Yosef, visitors can join the Salad Trail Tour of the Besor region led by agronomist Uri Alon, during which you’ll pass through the vegetable fields (you’re allowed to pick anything you want to snack on along the way). The tour will also take you through the greenhouse, where you can taste the mini cucumbers and tomatoes in a variety of colors. Next are the strawberries that are grown above the ground, as well as potatoes, herbs and carrots. Then you can get lost in the passion fruit maze and take part in a special Passover quiz in the Seven Species Garden.Price: English tour: NIS 55; Hebrew tour, NIS 50Date: April 26 & 27 at 10:30 a.m. Tours are 3 hours longDetails: www.salat4u.co.ilCORAL BEACH NATURE RESERVEMany Israelis love to spend the holiday in Eilat, so if you happen to be there, you’ll surely enjoy taking part in one of the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI)’s most popular events. This is a great opportunity to catch a glimpse of the tropical world of coral and fish up close. There will be snorkeling, lectures and a screening of nature films about sea creatures.Price: Entrance fee covers all activitiesDate: Until April 27, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.Location: Coral Beach Nature ReserveDetails: (08) 632-6422DEVORAT HATAVORMoshav Shadmot Devora is inviting the public to take part in a tour for the whole family at Devorat Hatavor, during which you’ll discover the deepest secrets of the ancient Egyptians and hear about the virtues of bees and what role they played in the preservation of mummies. During the tour, you’ll see up close how one collects propolis (bee glue) from the beehive without getting stung. The children will then be invited to prepare special chocolate-honey matzah and an authentic Egyptian papyrus.Price: NIS 42-52Date: Tours will take place until April 27 at 10 a.m., 12 noon and 2 p.m. Preregistration required: (04) 676-9598, 050-563-7645Location: Devorat Hatavor, Moshav Shadmot DevoraKTOFOTIThe whole family will have fun at Ktofoti, an agricultural experience located in the fields of a Templar colony in Bethlehem. You can pick as much fresh produce as you want (you pay per basket) among the rows of herbs and vegetables, including potatoes, garlic, onion, carrot, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and snow peas. Afterward, the kids can make a flowerpot and a scarecrow and feed the goats.Price: Entrance, NIS 45; baskets, NIS 20-30Date: Until April 27, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (last entry 2:30 p.m.)POETRY OF AVRAHAM SHLONSKY, AVRAHAM HALFISPNI is conducting a special literary tour of the streets of Tel Aviv that will delve into the poetry of Avraham Shlonsky and Avraham Halfi. Dr. Mimi Haskin, head of the literature department at Kibbutzim College, will talk about the two poets, who, although they were friends and neighbors, had extremely different styles. Shlonsky showed great leadership strength, whereas Halfi was extremely shy.Price: NIS 75-90Date: April 27, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.Details: (03) 638-8688KKL-JNF FORESTSAny trip out into nature is more fun when you add to it an exciting Digital Treasure Hunt. At three Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund forests (Biriya, Ben-Shemen and Sharsheret), kids who hate separating from their electronic devices even for a few minutes will be thrilled to navigate through nature using the Totem Time app. They’ll learn how to navigate between each station using the map and come away from the day with lots of new information about nature and Israel’s forests.Price: Free entranceDate: Until April 27Location: Biriya, Ben-Shemen, and Sharsheret forestsEIN KESHATOTAnother great place to visit on your last few days of the holiday is the Israeli heritage site at Ein Keshatot, where you’ll see an ancient synagogue that’s over 1,500 years old as well as abandoned Syrian houses that were built on top of the ruins of a Jewish village. There are also a number of flowing springs. If you’re interested, you can join a 60-minute guided walking tour of the site (does not require difficult hiking, but is not accessible for strollers). In addition, you can participate in an arts and craft workshop (for a fee) or try your hand at digging in an archaeological excavation run by the Antiquities Authority (free).Price: Entrance including tour, NIS 15-25; workshop, NIS 15Date: Friday, April 26, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Saturday, April 27, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.Details: www.einkeshatot.org.ilTranslated by Hannah Hochner.
