“You don't need to be as physically strong as you would think,” says Yuval Hamburg of Performance Rock Gym, which offers bouldering adventures to intrepid Israelis willing to rock climb without a harness or ropes. “You mainly need to be a thinking person. It's more about mentally how you get to the top.”

Bouldering is just the latest extreme sport to gain momentum in Israel, where extreme sports are all the rage. With a 273-kilometer coastline, Israel offers easy access to rafting, standup paddle-boarding, windsurfing and kite surfing.

You can also scuba dive in the Dead Sea, mountain bike in the desert or skateboard in one of Israel’s skateboard parks.