20 March 2008

Jerusalem Mountains in flowers!
The spring is here and it is the best time for outdooring experience in Israel. This is the season of flowers that paint everything around in colorful ornaments, making the hiking experience unforgettable. Red colors of Tulips and Anemones are responsible for the red color. The blue is the part of Lupins. Cyclamens, that are first to bloom, are artists of pink, together with magnificent blooming of Judas Tree.

The exact time of first blooming is determined by several factors: temperature, showers and amount of sunny days. Every plant has its own "internal clock" to flower. Hence, every year the dates are vary from February till April, depending on the climate conditions. Apparently, after the late snow fall in the first part of February, this year the peak blooming period has reached in the middle of March.

Veteran hikers know and cherish this time of year. One of such groups is "Hug Giora", that took advantage of the good weather to tour by foot Jerusalem Mountains. The area spanned just around the city; its nature, springs and landscapes provide wonderful outdooring option in a distance of just 15 minutes ride from Jerusalem. On the tour which I had the honor to guide, we visited Sataf springs, Tel-Zuba, mt. Tayasim, mt. Pitulim and Ketalav Wadi.

Even if you may not make it to Israel by yourown, have a look on the photographs that I took on the hike to understand how colorful the Land of Bible can be during this time of year. Enjoy!

- David

All the photos by (c) David Gurevich, March 2008

Iris	Lupins	Sataf ancient agriculture project
Ein Bikora spring	Hiking Sataf	Hiking Sataf
Cyclamens		Tel Zuba
Ein Zuba Spring	On the way to Tel Zuba	Lookout from the Tel
	Almond Tree	On the way to Ein Tayasim
	Hiking mt. Tayasim	Lookout from mt. Tayasim
Lookout from mt. Tayasim. Batir (Beitar) is on upper right corner	Tulip	Sorek stream
Hiking mt. Pitulim	Ketalav Wadi trail	Sunset in Jerusalem Mountains

This page refers the following subjects: Hiking Jerusalem Mountains, Hiking in Israel, Hiking tours, Outdooring, Flowers in Israel, Sataf, Tel Zuba, Tayasim, Ketalav, Guides, Tour guides in Israel, Private guides, Tour Guide in English, Tour Guide in Hebrew, Tour Guide in Russian