Aditi's Monologue

Exploring Israel with Woodland, one adventure at a time – this is an account of how I spent my days in Israel. And what a life changing trip this has been! I trust you’ve read my long-ish but heartfelt post on why I loved my Israel trip. And so there should be no need to repeat myself by declaring (yet again) that Israel has changed the way I look at travel, for good.

Adventure travel is my passion, but you already know that. From Himalayan Treks to Water Sports to Offbeat Vacations, I practically live for adventure travel.

But to do it in a country like Israel – a destination that not many of us associate with Adventure Tourism, was a thrill in itself. As if exploring Israel like a traveller wasn’t fun enough, I also got to do all the adventure activities that I could in a week!

Adding to the effect and making exploring Israel even more scintillating, was the fact that Woodland was to be my travel partner in exploring the mesmerizing Israeli outdoors. What’s not to love, right?

Israel is a small country, but it offers a wide and varied landscape which is perfect for an array of outdoors-y and adventure activities. There are plenty of options for hiking, mountain biking, surfing, snorkelling, desert camping, sky diving, and lots more.

It was so good to explore more with Woodland and Israel Tourism, and I found few of my biggest adventure travel moments in this beautiful country.

Exploring Israel is definitely a highlight in my life as a traveller.

I did a lot of adventure activities in Israel, of course. And I had the perfect adventure and outdoor companion with me – a supply of Woodland Outdoor Gear. My stash included comfortable clothes, Woodland’s new eye-wear and my favourite item – the deep blue Woodland Hiking Boots. You’ve seen them plenty of time already if you’ve been following my Israel and Hong Kong trip.

Here is a list of things you can do in Israel if you’re an adventure travel addict like me.

Exploring Israel: Adventure Activities To Do In Israel

1. Sky Diving in Eilat.

This one is the absolute best and hence, number one on my list. This was my first time, but I already know that nothing beats sky diving in Eilat, Israel. Nothing compares to the magic I experienced, the moment I jumped from that plane. The sparkling blue Red Sea below me, the mountains of Jordan on one side of the Red Sea, the shore city of Saudi Arabia and the buzzing city of Eilat – A delectable treat to the eyes!

I sky dived with skydive.co.il and the instructors were so much fun, they made us laugh and Roy, my tandem sky dive partner, was especially very cheerful and hysterically funny. The moment we met, before saying a hello, he said “Those boots, man!” pointing to my Woodland hiking boots. See I told you, those are amazing boots!

2. Desert Camping in the Makhtesh Ramon area.

Everything about the Makhtesh Ramon fascinated me to no end. In Hebrew, Makhtesh means Crater and Ramon is the name of this natural crater. Running approximately 40km long and 8km across, Makhtesh Ramon is the world’s biggest natural crater. To say that it is stunning, is an understatement.

I had worn the wrong shoes – a pair of leather loafers – the day before and they gave me tiny blisters. But I wasn’t going to bail out on this experience so I put on my Woodland Hiking Boots and braved the day.

In the Visitors Centre, they showed us two short movies.  One as on the astronaut Ilan Ramon and the other on wildlife found in the area. Then the curtains opened to show us a vantage-point view of the Crater, we were left stunned.

After that we went for a desert Jeep safari with Allen and our guide Yael. Did I mention that all out guides, including Yael, were selected by the Israel Ministry of Tourism? All of them were the best in their field, and they made exploring Israel so much fun!

At night, Alan helped us set up our tents and got hot and yummy camping style food for us. There was roasted chicken with veggies, there was freshly baked bread, there were olives, rice with nuts and brown onions and even a chocolate chip cake for dessert. Who knew exploring Israel would come with such yummy treats? I ate a little too much that night.

We spent the night there, in the middle of the desert with a full moon. And like I always say when I’m in the Himalayas, the silence of the mountains was deafening and comforting at the same time.

3. Cliff Rappelling at Qumran National Park.

Rappelling in the mountains is something that’s I’ve done a lot of times in India. While I used to like it a lot, the last two times I had done it in the Himalayas, my palms got injured and then I stopped. I tried it again in Israel, and I’m happy to report that no injury happened.

My palms remained undamaged after almost 90 meters of rappelling. Our guide was an enthusiastic Russian and our equipment was state of art. See, this is the thing. Whenever you venture out in search of outdoor adventure, the equipment needs to your first priority. This is a lesson I’ve learnt over the years. Woodland accessories to the rescue!

We started our cliff rappelling by doing a very steep 45 meter stretch. I dropped my phone from about 40 meters, but I’m putting this one in the Adventure Travel Experience Jar because – hello? Who keeps their phone in their front pockets while rappelling? No one in the right frame of mind, that who. But in my defence, I was pretty excited.

4. Mountain Biking in Sde Tzin.

I can’t believe how much fun I had! I rode a mountain bike on rocky hills, only to stop on high edges to listen to our bike guide’s stories. He explained to us the history of the area and an Indian princess came up as well! We saw the part of the famous spice route that crossed through the area. We did a few stunts on the bikes and had a superb time.

5. Hiking in Ein Avdat, Nature Reserve

We hiked to a beautiful waterfall here and again, Woodland hiking boots came to rescue. My feet had completely healed by now, and this is a moderate trail so I had fun. We also did a small photo shoot here! This picture below was taken by Yael, and I just love the reflection here.

This is just a short version of my incredible trip with Woodland, and I had so much fun exploring Israel.

So, Adventure Addicts, what are you waiting for? Plan a trip to Israel soon and experience it fr yourself. Do let me know if you have any questions, I’d be happy to help.

Happy Travelling!

PS: I travelled to Israel on the invitation of Israel Ministry of Tourism and Woodland, but the opinions, as always, are purely my own. I LOVED Israel, and I long to go back – I hope you see this passion in my travel posts.