In a joint effort by the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel and the Survey of Israel government mapping authority, a complete map of the Israel National Trail – the country's most popular hiking route – has been digitized and put online, and outdoor enthusiasts can download it for free and print out maps.
The Israel National Trail runs for 1,015 kilometers (631 miles) from north to south, traversing a wide range of landscapes, flora and fauna, and cultures.
"The goal of the joint venture and putting the maps online is to make the rich Israeli nature with which we have been blessed accessible to the public at large and encourage more and more people to go hiking, thereby playing an active role in helping to protect nature," SPNI Director Iris Han said.
The Israel National Trail was inaugurated in 1995 and allows hikers to travel the length of Israel on foot. The trail begins at Beit Ussishkin on Kibbutz Dan in the Upper Galilee and ends at a field school in Eilat.
The trail is marked with blue, white, and orange stripes and crosses mountains, forested areas, cities, villages, streams, springs, roads, and nature preserves. In 2012, National Geographic named it one of the world's 20 best hiking trails.
The free maps, which divide the trail into 52 sections, are available here. In addition to the maps, each section features distances and information about interesting points along the trail.
