Roll over a stone or pebble in Israel and chances are you are touching a piece of history. It could be the same stone that a Roman emperor’s chariot clambered over, or maybe it got stuck in the sandal of a long-gone biblical hero. Perhaps it was part of the grindstone of an ancient olive oil press?

 

In Israel, archeology, history and nature intersect. It is a historical playground for both tourists and the people who live here. Now, for outdoor enthusiasts looking to kick up a little of this unique dirt, an exciting new recreation sport welcomes you in Israel.

The Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF) has spent about one quarter of a million dollars upgrading and developing bicycle trails in the 8,500-acre Ben Shemen Forests. Located about a half an hour from Tel Aviv and from Jerusalem, this centrally situated cluster of forests not far from the town of Modi’in now offers the longest biking trail in Israel. It’s made up of two trails that link together and form loops so that cars and buses can be met at the same point where riders started off.

The new paths were inaugurated at the end of December 2011. At 32 kilometers (about 20 miles), they comprise the longest single trail in Israel and by next year will become even longer as they will link up to another trail now in development.

 

 

The feeling of history is always in the air as the wind rolls past your helmet in Ben Shemen.

The trails wind through the former ancient Canaanite settlement of Anava (Hebrew for “vine”) established 4,000 years ago and mentioned in the Bible. Some historians believe that oil to light the menorah in the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem was produced in Anava.

 

For medium-skilled cyclists, the Anava ride takes about five hours to finish. The smaller route, called the Herzl, takes about an hour, says forest ranger Mira Zer. Herzl is 10 kilometers long and ends at Mitzpeh Modi’in, a fabulous lookout point.

 

The two parts of the trail, which are mostly flat, begin as one, snaking through the oldest cypress pine forest in Israel. After seven kilometers, the path splits into two. One part returns to the beginning, while the second turns into the Anava trail. The 25-kilometer Anava trail begins and ends at the Herzl trail, passing by the Monk’s Valley and Tel Gimzu, an ancient archeological site.

 

 

The initiative to establish new trails was done primarily as an environmental move, Zer explains. Mountain-biking enthusiasts have been multiplying rapidly in Israel and, without knowing it, their leisure pastime of riding through the forest was dangerous to them and also to the wildlife -- the plants and animals that call the forest home.

 

“Many people were coming there,” she says, and the cyclists were building pirated trails, and not using paths in the forest in the right way. These [pirated] paths damage the forest by killing trees. Now there are very organized paths for cyclists only, ones that are safe for the riders and the forest.”

 

But don’t expect a walk in the park, Zer says. The trails are built for moderately skilled mountain bikers, and there are a few spots where the cyclists have to get down from the bike to walk, since certain slopes cannot be scaled on wheels. In short, only experienced riders should try it. “These aren’t family trails, but for people who really know how to ride well,” she warns.

Warning: The Ben Shemen trail isn’t for novices

 

The new one-way trails mean that cyclists all have to go in the same direction to avoid collisions. Also, a good portion of the trail can only be traversed by single bikes. By no means does that limit group trips; it’s just that riders should expect narrow trails, and in many areas they will have to ride following one after another.

Hannukah present for bikers

Mountain biking has become a serious passion and pastime for a growing number of Israelis and tourists worldwide. A Tel-Aviv-Jerusalem trail that KKL-JNF inaugurated last year has proved very popular.

 

These new paths, the KKL-JNF leadership hopes, will further help satisfy the demand in a safe and ecologically responsible manner. They were designed by trail architect Otto Friedman and laid down by KKL-JNF staffers under the supervision and guidance of Doron Amitz, a professional cyclist who won last year's Ofakim biking competition.

 

"There were a lot of improvised, unofficial bike trails running through Ben Shemen Forest before we began,” said Amitz. “The challenge was to create something better, so that bikers would prefer it to the trails they had grown used to. I'm pretty sure we were successful in meeting our goal."

Ben Shemen forester Haggai Yablovitch said there were three years of planning that went into the trails. “It seemed impossible due to the size of the area and the fact that the forest and the surrounding area serve so many different purposes” he said at the dedication ceremony in December.

 

“We set goals, made plans and got busy working. Volunteers helped us, but most of the work was done by KKL-JNF's dedicated workers. I am proud to say that there are now 32 new kilometers of bicycle trails in Ben Shemen, the longest bike trail in any KKL-JNF forest. We're hoping to prepare another 30 kilometers of trails over 2012.”

KKL-JNF World Chairman Efi Stenzler commented that it was meaningful for the Jewish people to establish this particular trail during the Hannukah holiday, which centers on the miracle of olive oil in the Holy Temple, and the Hasmonean warriors who came from Modi’in.

 

“There is no better time than today ... to inaugurate this biking trail that runs through the ancient olive presses that probably produced the oil for the Temple,” Stenzler said at the ceremony.

 

 

The trees in the Ben Shemen Forests were the first ones planted by the KKL-JNF in what would later be the state of Israel, starting in 1905 after the organization bought the land. In Hebrew, ben means “son of” and shemen means “oil.”

 

This name comes from the first Jewish settlement started in the area, around which a modern-day olive oil factory was built. Unfortunately, the factory was destroyed in a forest fire in 1915.

In 1908, the KKL-JNF planted olive trees in what is known as the Herzl Forest of Ben Shemen. This was named in memory of Israel’s Zionist visionary, Benjamin Ze’ev (Theodor) Herzl, who had a dream that the Jewish nation would return to Israel.

 

As Jews and non-Jews alike from foreign nations donated money to develop nature in the land of Israel, a number of heritage forests were planted. That’s why it is common to see family names and donor recognition placards throughout Israeli forests.

 

Fast forward to the 1950s, when Israel had officially become an independent and sovereign state. Its leaders’ aspirations to afforest the Holy Land reached a high with new immigrants working as tree planters in the Ben Shemen region. Back then it was called the Modi'in Region, and it was built up rapidly with new housing developments such as Gimzu, Kfar Daniel, Bet Arif, Bet Nehemia and Hadid. These communities can now be visited along the new bike trail.

 

Today the forests cover an area of about 3,400 acres and offer recreation opportunities smack between the boardwalk of Tel Aviv and the Old City of Jerusalem.

Forming a green lung for Tel Aviv nearby, the Ben Shemen Forests are the largest woodland in the central region of Israel. They offer a nice off-the-beaten-path activity for tourists looking to see the lesser-known “trails” of Israel.