Week Long Israel Trek Fundraiser for Magen David Adom and One to One

The nine day trip from the 7th to 15 November 2009 includes a 115km trek (incorporating part of the 800km Israel Trail) from the Red Sea to Solomon's Pillars.  

The Negev Desert occupies 60% of the land surface area of Israel and yet it is the least densely populated. It is a place of awe-inspiring beauty that stretches from Egypt to Jordan and from Jerusalem to the Red Sea. Here the forces of nature have conspired to create unique geological formations in a habitat that is home to an amazing variety of flora and fauna. Over 1,000 different plant species and a variety of animals lay claim to the area adapting themselves to the dry heat and climate. The absence of a thick covering of vegetation and the sparse population, mainly Bedouin, who cling to their nomadic ways, have helped preserve the Negev in its natural condition.

During the challenge you will encounter the Israel Trail on several days. The Trail  serves as the backbone for thousands of kilometres of other marked hiking trails and has been designed to foster nature conservation and to link up major sites of historical, biblical, and scenic interest.

Due to its particularly hot summers and meagre annual rainfall, the Negev is ranked as an 'extreme desert' which presents some of the best desert trekking in the world. You will leave the civilisation of Eilat and enter a harsh desert environment. Your reward will be a surprising variety of landscapes as you trek through the colourful mountains and valleys of this remote area. By the time you we reach Solomon’s Pillars at the end you will  feel an extraordinary sense of achievement having trekked over 115km.

The Itinery is below

Day 1 – Saturday

London – Tel Aviv

Overnight flight from London to Israel (flight times to be confirmed)

Day 2 – Sunday
Tel Aviv - Eilat – Nachal Shlomo
7km trekking approx.
Land in Tel Aviv and transfer flight to Eilat. On arrival you will be met by your guides and transferred to the Princess Hotel for breakfast. Once changed into trekking gear you will set off from the hotel and head straight into the grey-red Eilat Mountains. You will follow the famous Israel Trail to the slopes of Mount Zefachut. You will then descend into the wilderness of Nachal Shlomo to the first night’s camp.

Day 3 - Monday
Nachal Shlomo – Slopes of Mount Yehoram

24km trekking approx.

You will back-track for 2km to the Israel Trail then continue to the Gishron Cliffs. You will trek through the acacia-filled Wadi Gishron (400 m) which forms the border between Israel and Egypt. Late afternoon you will visit springs at Ein Netafim before arriving at your camp on the slopes of Mount Yehoram.

Day 4 - Tuesday

Slopes of Mount Yehoram – Amram Pillars
27km trekking approx.
You will set off towards Ein Netafim where you will re-join the Israel Trail which meanders along Nachal Netafim. You will head on towards the Lost Valley and eventually reach the slopes of Mount Shkoret. The colours and shapes of the Eilat Mountains change dramatically minute by minute: sharp, jagged ridges with red and grey granite summits; pale, rounded limestone plateaus; sheer cliffs and gorges in multi-coloured layers of Nubian sandstone. Your overnight camp is at Nachal Amir just before the Amram Pillars.

Day 5 - Wednesday

Amram Pillars – Red Canyon
23km trekking approx.
You wiill leave the camp and trek through Wadi Amir. This is followed by a climb along the Israel Trail to Amram Pillars (rock formations resembling columns) and its lookout over the surrounding desert landscape. From this vantage point of 638 metres you will see the remainder of your day’s trek. You will continue to the palm trees at Rakham Pools where you will enjoy some respite from the blazing sun. The rest of the afternoon you will follow Wadi Shani and camp near the Red Canyon in Nachal Shani (700 m). The Red Canyon is one of the highlights of the Negev. At this site a channel opens up alongside the red sandstone path until it reaches the entrance of a magnificent slot canyon.

Day 6 - Thursday

Red Canyon – Timna Lake

28km trekking approx.

This is the longest day of trekking so you will make an early start. This morning you will hike on the other side of the Red Canyon and back along Nachal Shani to Nachal Rakham. You will then head north on the Israel Trail along the slopes of the Chaclil Mountains. In the afternoon you will enter Timna Park, the site of one of history's great technological revolutions - the end of the Stone Age. Midianites; discovered copper here and began to develop processes for smelting it around 3000 BC. The Egyptians joined them around 1200 BC and expeditions carried thousands of copper ingots back to Egypt. This region was the site of mining activity until the twentieth century. You will camp at Timna Lake a small man-made body of water where birds and animals come to drink. It provides a swarth of blue in this far-flung landscape of rose-coloured sandstone.

Day 7 – Friday
Timna Lake – Solomon’s Pillars – Mount Timna
9km trekking approx. + abseiling challenge
The last stretch of this memorable trek takes you further along the Israel Trail through Timna Park. There are many incredible multi-coloured sandstone rocks that nature has sculpted spread around the park. These include Solomon’s Pillars, a unique geological formation of sandstone columns located close to Egyptian petroglyphs, temple ruins and abandoned mines. It is in this area that you tackle some abseiling, a wonderful highlight on this final day. The last part of your challenge is the ascent of Mount Timna (453 m) where you will celebrate the end of your trek. Transfer to the Princess Hotel in Eilat (40 km / 30 minutes). Kabbalat Shabbat and dinner at the hotel.

Day 8 - Saturday
Eilat
Free day at the Princess Hotel. Tonight you will enjoy a celebratory meal.

Day 9 – Sunday
Eilat – Tel Aviv - London
Return flight to London (details to be confirmed)

For more information about this chanllange, please contact Simone at Magen Dovid Adom UK on 020 8201 5900 or via email simone@mdauk.org.