The Guidance Meetings
At the moment the meetings are held in Hebrew only but you can call the Israel SPNI and ask for information in English and maybe to set up an English meeting...
The guidance meetings for the INT are a great occasion to meet Israeli hikers about to start the trail for partnership matters, to disscuss cheap accommodation throughout the trail and other issues of the INT trek.
Participating in the meeting costs about 20 NIS but hold on to the receipt. It will provide you with a great discount for topographic maps of Israel at the SPNI shop (probably the lowest price you can find).
Contact phone to Israel SPNI - Israel National Trail committee: 972-3-6388719.
Maps of Israel Trail
There is a topographical map in English at a high scale (1:250K)
printed with the Israeli National Trail on it. The tourist map it is not made
for accurate navigation (though it is very accurate).
The map can be purchased on the web or in the SPNI stores in Israel.
In addition there are low scale topographic maps of Israel (50K) with the INT printed on them (Hebrew addition only). The low scale maps contain all the marked trails in the map area, settlements, roads, campsites and much more. The maps do not contain all the water spots in the desert and there current status, and also do not show hotels or hostels near the trail.
Topographic tourist map (250K) cost approximately 10 $(1 map in the series).
Low scale topographic map (50K Hebrew only) cost approximately 17$ per map (20 maps areas- 19 maps in the series)
The low scale maps are numbered (on the cover). For the INT you will need:
The northern part: 1, 2, 3, 4
The central part: 7, 9, 11, 12
The southern part: 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20
We recommend a combination between the two maps for better orientation (though the names on the low scale map are in Hebrew it can provide useful information). The INT is marked well so there is little chance of getting lost.
.
Choosing the Walking Direction for hiking the Israel Trail
You can start the INT at the north, at Kibbutz Dan, and hike your way south, to Taba, a ground border crossing near Eilat - or the other way around.
We recommend starting from the northern end, as hiking is easier this way, there is less planning to do and more people to ask for guidance...
More about the Israel Trail at Wikitravel: Israel Trail.
The Israel Trail Data Project: IsraelNationalTrail
Look for a Partner to Hike the Israel National Trail: Look for Partner Forum.
Backpacking Israel - The Prime Location on the Web for Backpackers , Trekkers, Hostelers and Adventure Travelers to Israel and the Holy Land!
