List of Forests in Israel

List of Forests in Israel
Jerusalem	Tzora	Lavi
Canada Park	Carmel Coast	Mt. Turan
Eshtaol	Hadera	Segev
Gilo Park	Iron	Beit Keshet
Aminadav	Mt. Hurshan	Swiss
Martyrs	Mt. Shehumit	Tiberias
Peace	Ahihud	Amatzia
Ramot	Biriya	Melachim
Ben Shemen	Lower Hanita	Be’eri
Hulda	Parod	Lahav
HaMeginim	Baram	Yatir
Dvira	Hadassah	Teva

View of Jerusalem Forest from Yad Vashem. The Jerusalem Forest is a pine forest located in the Judean Mountains west of Jerusalem. It is surrounded by the Jerusalem neighborhoods Beit HaKerem, Yefe Nof, Ein Kerem, Har Nof, Givat Shaul, and a moshav, Beit Zeit. The forest more or less surrounds Yad Vashem, the official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. The forest was planted during the 1950s by the Jewish National Fund, financed by private donors. At its largest, the forest extended over about 4 square kilometres. Over the years, it has shrunk due to urban expansion and today, it covers about 1.2 square kilometres. The Yad Vashem museum is located in the forest near Mount Herzl. 

Jerusalem Forest

Canada Park, also Ayalon Park, is a national park stretching over 7,000 dunams (700 hectares) and maintained by the Jewish National Fund of Canada. The park is North of Highway 1 (Tel Aviv-Jerusalem), between the Latrun Interchange and Sha’ar HaGai, and contains a Hasmonean fort, Crusader fort, ruins of a Byzantine church, and other archaeological remains, picnic areas, springs and panoramic hilltop views. The park attracts some 300,000 visitors annually. The park is located on the lands of three Palestinian West Bank villages, partly on land that Israel claims to have annexed.

Canada Park is filled with wooded areas, walking trails, water features and archaeological sites. Trees in the park include olive, carob, pomegranate, pine and almond. The area is also home to a range of wildlife from lizards and turtles to gray ravens and blue jays. Historical ruins on the grounds of the park include a Roman bathhouse, a Hasmonean cemetery, and a Crusader fortress (Castellum Arnaldi). Two Second Temple-era ritual baths were also discovered there. At the foot of one of the hills that overlooks the city of Modi’in is a large reservoir built by the Jewish National Fund for irrigating local fields.

In the middle of the park is a forest planted to commemorate over 300 American and Canadian Jews who died in Israel's wars or were victims of terror. An annual memorial ceremony is organized by the Association of Americans and Canadians in Israel (AACI). In 2011, the ceremony was attended by the US Ambassador to Israel Daniel Shapiro.

Canada Park Forest

Lake at Canada Park Forest

Eshtaol Forest is a forest in Israel, located north of Beit Shemesh and near Ta’oz and Neve Shalom. The Forest of the Martyrs lies to the east. The forest is a popular recreation area and is one of the largest forests in Israel. The forest (like many other forests in Israel) was planted by the Jewish National Fund, which continues to expand it.

Eshtaol Forest

The Aminadav Forest is located to the west of Jerusalem. It is spread over 7 km (700 ha), and is a combination of natural woodland and trees planted by the Jewish National Fund along the Salmon-Sorek contour. The forest overlooks the Sorek and Refa`im riverbeds and the Jerusalem hills. In the forest are several natural springs, ancient agricultural terraces, orchards, ancient wine presses and chalk pits. The Lord Sacks forest is a forest of 25,000 trees being planted within the Aminadav forest by the JNF, UK. It is named for Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, Lord Jonathan Sacks.

Aminadav Forest

Ben Shemen is a moshav in Central Israel. Located around four kilometres east of Lod, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hevel Modi’in Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 627.

The moshav was originally founded in 1905, and was one of the first villages established on Jewish National Fund land. In 1947 he had a population of 75. Its name taken from Isaiah 5:1: “Let me sing of my well-beloved, a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My well-beloved had a vineyard in a very fruitful hill” reflects the JNF's planting of olive trees in this area. The first Jewish National Fund forest is located in Ben Shemen.

The Ben-Shemen Forest spreads over more than 20,000 dunames and is referred to as “The largest Green-lung in central Israel”. 

The Forest is situated in between Jerusalem and Tel-Aviv, near the city of Modiin. 

It is mainly represented by Pine trees but as of recent, some new Israeli trees had been planted and successfully grown. 

The name derives from the oil production that had been active in the area at the beginning of the 20th century. 

The area enjoys a profusion of wildflowers in winter and spring and offers a variety of activities for the entire family:

·      Bicycle trails;

·      lovely and well-directed Scenic trails;

·      Observation points;

·      Archeological sites, such as the old Maccabean graves; 

·      Recreational activities;

·      Barbeque/Picnic corners

Ben Shemen Forest
Cultivated fields beside forest trees, pines and cypresses

Hulda Forest is located in the Central District of Israel. The forest dates back to 1905, when a company called Geula, or “Redemption,” purchased 500 acres of land from the Arabs of Hulda village. The company intended to divide its purchase into sections and sell them to Jewish newcomers. Unfortunately for Geula, massive grazing had depleted the earth of its minerals and the soil at Hulda was completely barren—not a tree, bush or flower broke the dreary landscape. And it took hours to get to the nearest town. Years went by, and no one wanted the desolate plots. 

Geula officials, who had borrowed from the bank to acquire the land, began to seriously wonder how they would recover their losses. Salvation arrived in 1908, when the newly established JNF decided to plant a forest at Hulda in honor of Herzl. The great visionary had passed away just a few years earlier, and when told the money was for an olive-tree forest in his memory, donors generously opened their purses. 

Sadly, however, although commonly identified with the Holy Land, olive trees were wholly unsuited to the soil at Hulda. That wasn't the only problem. Accomplished German agronomist Louis Barish agreed to take on the Hulda project in 1909. However, the knowledge that had served him well in Europe was all wrong for the Middle East. Planting season in Israel differed from that of Europe, but he insisted on sticking to what he knew best. 

Most of Barish's laborers came from Eastern Europe. Idealistic Zionists, they objected to his employment of additional Arab labor, couldn't understand German, and greatly resented Barish's highfalutin' attitude. And no wonder: Barish lavished his resources on construction of a grand residence in honor of Herzl, appropriated all four large rooms on the top story for himself, and crowded the workers into the damp and stuffy basement together with snakes, scorpions and other creepy-crawly creatures. 

Barish was sent packing barely a year after he arrived, and the vast majority of olive-tree saplings sown at Hulda soon perished. Eventually the JNF completely revised its thinking, and in 1912 planted its very first pine forest at Hulda. Before you begin the trail, look to the left of the shelter. The olive trees that you see are all that is left of the original Herzl Forest and its 12,000 saplings. 

Herzl Forest today is encompassed within a much larger Hulda Forest filled with an unusually wide variety of trees. During your walk you will view oak, South American pepper, eucalyptus, Australian casuarinas (so named because the twigs resemble the feathers of the cassowary bird), cypress, all kinds of pine, sycamore, chinaberry, acacia and Washingtonia trees. You will also see plenty of fruit trees: carob, date, olive and pistachio and, in late winter, flowering almond.

Hulda Forest

Gilo is an Israeli settlement and neighborhood in south-western East Jerusalem, with a population of 40,000, mostly Jewish inhabitants. Gilo Park Forest was planted there by the JNF.

Gilo Park Forest

Park Gilo is a lovely park located in a forest in the southern Gilo neighborhood of Jerusalem. In addition to a children’s playground, there is a rollerblade and biking trail, tennis court, basketball court, walking trails and climbing structures.

The park has a stunning view of Jerusalem, overlooking the Refaim valley and the old train tracks of the Jerusalem-Beit Shemesh rail line. The forest is filled with pine trees, with picnic tables and oversized chess boards scattered throughout.

Gilo Park Forest Children's Playground

The Forest of the Martyrs is a forest on the outskirts of Jerusalem, Israel. It is on the western edge of Eshtaol Forest near Beit Meir. It was planted as a memorial to those who died in the Holocaust and will eventually contain six million trees, symbolizing the six million Jews who perished at the hands of the Nazis in World War II.

The memorial in the forest contains a sculpture by Nathan Rapoport, entitled Scroll of Fire, dated 1971.

The Martyrs` Forest was planted in 1951 to commemorate the victims of the Holocaust. The Six million trees which grow here are metaphorical green candles recalling the six million Jews who were killed by the Nazis. The Martyrs` Forest was planted by Keren Kayemeth Le Israel - Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF) in co-operation with Bnei Brith west of Jerusalem, near the Kisalon riverbed.

Many Holocaust survivors have chosen to commemorate their dear ones by planting groves in their honor in the Martyrs` Forest and engrave their names on special memorial plaques. KKL-JNF has established in the Martyrs` Forest the impressive Scrolls of Fire Memorial and renovated the Martyrs` Cave.

The Martyrs` Forest boasts a wide variety of species including pines, cypresses, eucalyptus and carob trees. They blend with the indigenous oak, Israeli terebrinth and storax tree.

The forest runs by the Kesalon River in the Jerusalem Hills. Wildflowers grow in profusion during the Spring.  Inside the forest, lies the Scrolls of Fire Monument, the Bnei Brith Memorial Cave, and the Anne Frank Memorial. The Israel trail runs through the Martyrs’ Forest.

Forest of the Martyrs

Entrance to Forest of the Martyrs

Bnei Brith Cave at Forest of the Martyrs

Monument Scroll of Fire in the Forest of the Martyrs
Designed by Nathan Rapoport
Dedicated to the Victims of the Holocaust

Peace forest is a forest in Southeast Jerusalem, Israel, between the Abu Tor neighborhood and the Sherover Promenade. It was a location of the biblical Atzal River mentioned in the book of Zechariah (Zechariah 14:5).  Currently only a riverbed is left in its place.

There are a number of graves of the Second Temple era found in the Peace Forest, some of which have Hebrew inscriptions on them. In 1990, a grave with an Aramaic inscription “Joseph, son of Caiaphas” was found in the Peace Forest, which probably belongs to the High priest Caiaphas.

The Peace Forest also contains remains of an aqueduct which was supplying Jerusalem with water at the time of the Second Temple.

Peace Forest

Segway Tour Through the Peace Forest

Ramot (lit. Heights), also known as Ramot Alon, is a large neighborhood in a northern part of East Jerusalem. Ramot is one of Jerusalem's Ring Neighborhoods. The land was annexed by Israel after the Six-Day War, though that annexation has not been recognized internationally. As part of Ramot was established in East Jerusalem, the international community considers it an Israeli settlement.

Ramot Forest is located in Ramot. At the edge of the forest is the Gan Kipod children's park featuring a porcupine-shaped slide. Ramot Forest Gazelle Trail, a natural Gazelle habitat, is located there as well.

City of Ramot and Ramot Forest

Ramot Forest Walking Trail

Ramot Forest Children's Playground With Porcupine Slide

A sloping forest in the North of Israel:  Biriya Forest is the largest planted forest in the Galilee, and is situated on the slopes descending east from Tzefat to Rosh Pina and Hatzor. Biriya boasts a variety of fascinating sites - groves, springs, an ancient synagogue, a lime pit, revered tombs, diverse flora, hiking trails and scenic lookouts.

Special Sites in the forest:  Biriya Fortress, Scenic Road, Tombs of the Sages, Ancient Synagogue in Naburiya, Naburiya Spring.

Facilities:  Marked path, Archeological or Historic site, Accessible site.

Additional Sites in the Vicinity: Har Yavnit, Old City of Tzefat, Ein Hatechelet Park, Amud River Nature Reserve.

In the middle of the forest is Biriya Fortress, a site that symbolizes the determination of the Jewish people to inhabit their land. Biriya Fortress is a visitors center at present, where visitors and students can learn, visually and interactively, about the history of Biriya, afforestation and local nature.

The heights of the forest reach an altitude of more than 900m above sea level. The air is fresh and relatively cool even in the summer, which makes Biriya Forest a good place to visit all year round. In the spring there are lush Galilee wildflowers—sage-leaf rockrose, which is known for its large white flowers, as well as anemones, buttercups, cyclamens, orchids and many others species of flowers.

In early summer, there is a profusion of yellow flowering Spanish broom, and all summer long, the spiny hawthorn bears round, sweet fruits that taste like apples. In the fall, you can see squills and crocuses.

Most of the forest is Jerusalem pine, although KKL-JNF varied the forest with other conifers, the Brutia pine and the Canary pine. There are other coniferous trees, too, such as the common cypress and the Arizona cypress, whose bark tends to peel. One of the more beautiful trees that can be found in a few of the forest groves is the Atlantic cedar.

KKL-JNF constructed many recreation areas in Biriya Forest, paved a scenic route that traverses the entire length of the forest, and blazed four marked trails that start out from the Biriya Fortress.

Biriya Forest

Biriya Forest Fortress in the Upper Galilee

The Dvira Forest is 17,000 dunams of forest in the Negev, next to Kibbutz Dvir. In the more secluded areas of the Dvira Forest, you can see jackals and deer, hares and porcupines. 

The Teva Forest comprises 4000 dunams within the Dvira Forest. The Migdalit Ruins, remains of an ancient village and Byzantine period synagogue, are also within the Dvira forest.

Dvira Forest

The Teva Forest was planted by the management and employees of the Teva Pharmaceutical Company in Israel, to promote afforestation of the Negev Desert. There are picnic tables and a water fountain.

The Teva Forest is about 4000 dunams, and is part of the Dvira Forest in the Negev.

Teva Forest

The HaMeginim Forest, as many forests in Israel, is not a natural forest, it was established by JNF (Jewish National Fund). In the forest there are memorial sites to Israeli soldiers, which can be found in many corners in the forest. The name HaMeginim (the protectors) was given to it because of the memorial sites. The watch tower originally was meant to help warn from fires; however, today it is standing without use.

HaMeginim Forest. Poppies are in bloom.

HaMeginim Forest

Tzora Forest. Within the forest, the vantage point of Tzora Ridge provides a splendid view of the Coastal Plain, the Judean Plain and the Judean Hills. This is the land of Samson the Valiant and the site of battles between the Philistines and the Israelites in Biblical times. The forest contains natural vegetation, archeological sites, sculptures, observation points and a large number of recreational areas. Two roads suitable for vehicles run through the entire length of the forest, providing access to footpaths that lead to hidden corners of woodland. 

The Judean Plain is an intermediate region that divides the Judean Hills from the Coastal Plain. Its soft chalk hills are easily molded and furrowed by rain, creating a soft undulating landscape with comparatively gentle slopes. 

The Judean Plain was the site of fierce battles between the Philistines and the Israelites, and Tzora Forest is situated in the area that was home to the Biblical hero Samson; he was born at Tel Tzora, in the very heart of today’s woodland, and it was from there that he set out on his daring exploits. 

The forest’s special charm lies in the combination of natural vegetation, archeological sites, environmental sculpture and observation points it offers the visitor. Two convenient signposted roads that run the length of the forest from north to south provide access for all types of vehicles. Smaller trails run between them, providing links to the more distant parts of the woodland. 

KKL-JNF has created a large number of recreational areas in the forest, thanks partially to a special project in 1993 when new immigrants to Israel were employed to carry out forestry tasks, construct recreational areas, and create and signpost new footpaths.

Tzora Forest

Carmel Coast Forest - The Evergreen Mountains

The forest combines cultivated trees with Mediterranean woodland, with a view of the Carmel coast. In the spring, the area is enlivened by the colorful blossoms of shrubs and seasonal flowers.

Carmel Coast (Hof HaCarmel) Forest extends over an area of around 10,000 dunam (approx 2,500 acres) on the western slopes of Mount Carmel. In the heart of the forest stands the Ofer Lookout, which KKL-JNF firewatchers use during the summer months. The forest combines cultivated trees with Mediterranean woodland.

In the spring, the area is enlivened by the colorful blossoms of shrubs such as sage-leaved rockrose (Cistus salviifolius), soft hairy rockrose (Cistus creticus) and spiny broom (Calicotome villosa). These are joined by seasonal flowers: cyclamen, anemone, different varieties of orchid and many others.

KKL-JNF has established a large number of recreation areas throughout the forest, which has become a very popular venue for cyclists, some of whom have created unmarked and untended paths of their own. Riders negotiate these unofficial routes at their own risk.

Carmel Forest

Carmel Hotel Resort in Carmel Forest

Hadera Forest. Eucalyptus trees were planted in Hadera by the first settlers to dry up the swamps. Over time, it turned into a large forest. Hadera Forest is within walking distance to town. The forest offers picnic tables, walking trails, playgrounds and paved roads.

Hadera Forest

Hadera Forest

Samaria is a mountainous region located North of Jerusalem. In modern times, the territory is generally and almost universally known as part of the West Bank.

To the north, Samaria is bounded by the Jezreel Valley; to the east by the Jordan Rift Valley; to the west by the Carmel Ridge (in the north) and the Sharon plain (in the west); to the south by the Jerusalem mountains.

The Samarian hills are not very high, seldom reaching the height of over 800 metres. Samaria's climate is more hospitable than the climate further south.

The mountain ranges in the south of the region continue into Judaea without a clear division.

Iron Forest, Samaria

Hills of Samaria

Israel’s Largest Planted Forest: The Yatir Forest in the north-western Negev is named after the Levite city whose ruins are found within it. Yatir Forest proves that we can combat desertification, and heal the wounded earth.

Special Sites in the Park: The Foresters’ House, The ruins of a Roman road, The ruins of ancient Yatir, The cistern and cave trails, The Yatir reservoir.

Facilities: Archeological or Historic site, Marked path.

Additional Sites in the Vicinity: Lahav Forest, The Joe Alon Bedouin Museum, The Negev Memorial, Tel Ira, The ruins of ancient Sussia, Tel Krayot, Tel Arad, The ruins of ancient Uza.

The Yatir Forest, which covers 30,000 dunams, is named after the Levite city whose ruins are found within it. Scripture states: “To the descendants of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron and the open land around it, the city of refuge for those guilty of manslaughter, and Livnah and the open land around it, and Yatir with the open land about it, and Eshtemoa with the open land about it” (Joshua 21:13–14).

The forest’s beginnings go back to the building of roads in the Negev as part of the national project to develop the region. In 1964, KKL-JNF foresters planted the first trees against all odds—and eventually, the forest became one of the largest in Israel.

The forest contains more than four million trees, including conifers (Jerusalem pine and cypress), broadleaf trees (Atlantic terebinth, tamarisk, Christ’s-thorn jujube, carob and pistachio), orchard trees (olive, fig), eucalyptus and acacia, vineyards for winemaking and various shrubs such as desert broom and vitex.

The forest is located at the edge of the desert, on the lower slopes of the Hebron hills northeast of Beer Sheba. This is where the Mediterranean region’s orchards and scrublands meet the desert vegetation typical of the Negev and the Judean Desert.

Because of its varying height—between 400 and 800 meters above sea level—and the fact that it faces southwest, the area receives more than its share of rainfall (between 250 and 275 milliliters per year on average). The air is dry and the climate relatively comfortable, and during the sultry summer afternoons, the forest is cool and pleasant. It is cold in winter.

The forest is located at the juncture of three distinct landscapes: the lower slopes of the southern portion of the Hebron Hills, which are made of hard chalk rock; the Yatir crater, of soft chalk; and the southern and western slopes of the forest, which descend to the Beer Sheba Valley and are covered with light brown loess soil.

The forest’s water channels, which drain the southern Hebron hills, widen as they descend into the valley. The eastern slopes, however, descend steeply straight into the Arad valley, revealing the spectacular landscapes of the Judean Desert with the mountains of Moab on the horizon. KKL-JNF has planted new vegetation in the forest’s southern portion by harvesting runoff rainwater, in which rainwater is collected in stone terraces built in stair-like fashion along the slopes. These terraces once served as farmland.

The rainwater that collects along the slopes is held back from flowing downward by the terraces, allowing more water to soak into the soil. Thus the ground in these areas receives much more water than it would from the residue of the annual rainfall only.

In these parts of the forest, KKL-JNF plants trees at a low density of approximately fifteen trees per dunam. The trees prevent soil erosion and increase the variety of plants and animals in the region and soil fertility. Between the trees there is vegetation that serves as fodder for flocks, which helps with pushing back the desert. In the valleys between the slopes, KKL-JNF has prepared land for local residential communities in which fruit orchards and vineyards are maintained.

Yatir Forest is also the site of a number of studies on combating desertification, soil conservation, carbon sequestration, plant-water-soil relations and other ecological topics. This research is conducted in cooperation with the major academic and research institutes in Israel.

Yatir Forest

Yatir Forest

Ahihud Forest is located near the village of Julis in western Galilee. It covers an area of 8,000 dunams and is comprised of conifers, eucalyptus trees, oaks, and various native Mediterranean broad-leafed trees and shrubs.

It is named for Ahihud the son of Shlomi, the chieftain of the tribe of Asher, which lived in this vicinity in ancient Biblical times.

Ahihud Forest is situated between the town of Ahihud and Tal El in the Northern District (Galilee region) in Israel—about 79 mi (or 127 km) North of Jerusalem, the country's capital city.

Ahihud Oak Forest

Ahihud Forest

In Israel there is a small forest called Perlasca Forest which is dedicated to Righteous Among the Nations Giorgio Perlasca, who during World War II saved the lives of nearly 5,000 Hungarian Jews by pretending he was a Spanish diplomat.

The forest, comprised of 10,000 trees including pines, eucalyptus and cypresses, is situated in the Northern part of the Country between the towns of Accro (Acri) and Safed, inside the Ahihud forest.

It is run by the Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael (KKL).

Giorgio Perlasca

Hanita Forest occupies an area of over 2,300 dunam (approx 575 acres) across the slopes of the Western Galilee hills at a height of between 100 and 400 meters above sea level.

KKL-JNF acquired the lands of Kibbutz Hanita, which was established as a Tower and Stockade settlement in 1938, and planted a forest around the Lower Hanita site that had served as a way station for the settlement group before they reached the top of the hill where the kibbutz stands today. At the upper end of the forest, which now extends from Hanita all the way down to the township of Shlomi, stands a reconstruction of the tower and stockade site with an adjacent recreation area that is accessible to visitors with limited mobility. An additional picnic site can be found at the lower end of the forest, near Shlomi. 

Region: Northern Israel, Western Galilee and Mount Carmel

Notable sites in the forest: Hanita Observation Point, the Tower and Stockade Recreation Area, the Shlomi Recreation Area, Hanita Museum.

Facilities: Picinic area, Lookout, Marked path, Archeological site, Water.

Additional sites in the area: Goren Park, Adamit Park, Rosh HaNikra

Kibbutz Hanita was established in a daring Tower and Stockade operation in response to Arab efforts to frustrate Jewish settlement. On March 20, 1938 the pioneering settlers began the ascent of Mount Hanita and established a base camp on the first night at Lower Hanita, where the reconstructed tower and stockade stands today in the forest. Local Arabs attacked the settlers on that first night, and many more times subsequently, but the community held out nonetheless. After the construction of the road to Upper Hanita (the name “Hanita” appears in Jewish sources with reference to two communities in the Tyre region), the pioneers moved up the hill to their permanent place of settlement.

KKL-JNF planted the forest, which consists mainly of pine trees, around the Lower Hanita site, and the woodland now extends all the way from the kibbutz to the township of Shlomi. At the top end of the forest stands a reconstruction of the tower and stockade site with an adjacent recreation area that is accessible to visitors whose mobility is limited. An additional picnic site can be found at the lower end of the forest beside Shlomi.

Today the Hanita slopes are covered with a variety of conifers, fruit trees and native woodland. In the mid 1990s, after a serious outbreak of Israeli pine bast scale, some 900 dunam (approx 225 acres) of the forest were restored by KKL-JNF, and around 700 dunam of trees were uprooted between 1998 and 2001 to make way for the new neighborhoods of Shlomi. Despite its small size, Hanita Forest is an excellent example of variegated woodland in which natural vegetation is developing in the shade of the conifers.

Throughout the year a variety of geophytes, orchids and annuals bloom in the forest, which also possesses a number of interesting botanical and archeological sites, together with footpaths and roads that lead the visitor to hidden beauty spots.

Hanita Forest

Hanita Forest

Parod is a kibbutz in the Upper Galilee near Safed in northern Israel. It belongs to the Merom HaGalil Regional Council.

The community was founded in 1949 by immigrants to Israel from Hungary, on land belonging to the Palestinian village of Farradiyya.

The name "Parod" is based on the name of the ancient Jewish community Paradia. The name, which means “separated,” might also hint at the community's location on the border between the Upper and Lower Galilee.

The kibbutz was founded under the name "Gardush" to honor a member of the founding nucleus who was killed in the Holocaust.

Parod Forest and River

Parod Forest and Waterfalls

The Baram Forest of Upper Galilee clothe the steep slopes that descend on either side of the gully of Nahal Dishon (“Antelope River”) near Kibbutz Baram, Kibbutz Yiron, Moshav Avivim and Moshav Kerem Ben Zimra. The forests, whose northernmost extremity reaches Israel’s northern road along the border with Lebanon, cover an area of around 10,000 dunam (approximately 2,500 acres). Although the first trees were planted in 1950, the bulk of the planting was carried out between 1955 and 1965.

Region: Central Galilee and the Golan Heights

Special attractions in the park: The Baram Scenic Lookout, Baram Forest Nature Reserve, the ancient Baram Synagogue, Nahal Gush Halav, Nahal Aviv, and the Dafna Friendship Memorial Site. 

Facilities: Picinic areas, lookout, marked paths, archeological and historic sites, forest nature reserve, memorial.

Other sites in the area: Mount Meron Nature Reserve, Ein Zeitim, Nahal Kadesh Park, the Menara Cable Car, the Naftali Hills Scenic Trail. 

Most of Baram Forest is planted with Jerusalem pine and Calabrian pine (Pinus brutia). In 1992, extensive areas of the forest were damaged by the heavy snow that covered many of Israel’s hilly regions that winter, and the following year KKL-JNF began planting new trees that included pine, cypress, native woodland varieties and a few cedars. 

Nahal Dishon (“Antelope River”) forms the backbone of this region, draining from the eastern slopes of the Meron Hills before making its way eastwards and flowing into the River Jordan near Kibbutz Hulata. In winter, the entire Dishon Gully flows with water, but in summer the riverbed is dry, mainly because water is consistently pumped from the springs that feed it. 

The Israel Trail that cuts across Israel from north to south follows the gully for most of its length. In the area of Baram Forest, a back road has been paved along the gully, allowing motorists to drive through the heart of the woodland and enjoy its magnificent scenery. In the lower part of the gully however, a four-wheel-drive vehicle is necessary.

In winter and spring, the hillsides are covered with magnificent carpets of wildflowers, and on Mount Puah you may be lucky enough to see the oncocyclus bearded iris (Iris lortetii), which produces large pink flowers in April, or the winter daffodil (Sternbergia clusiana), which flowers at the end of November. The area also has an extensive population of wild animals, most notably deer and wild boar. The caves on the cliff edge provide nesting places for vultures. 

The Baram Forests of Upper Galilee are pleasant even during the summer months, when a walking tour can be combined with a visit to some of the area’s fascinating sites. Many of the local communities provide excellent bed and breakfast facilities in a rural setting, enabling visitors to extend their stay overnight. Gush Halav (Jish) has restaurants that serve Middle Eastern food, and the Kibbutz Yiron Winery has already made a name for itself with locals and visitors alike.

Baram Forest

Baram Forest

Hadassah Forest Grove is located in Be’er Sheva at the Be’er Sheva River Park which is south of Jerusalem in the Negev.

A Hadassah (name of a group similar to the JNF) delegation arrived in Israel during Operation Protective Edge, and on July 29, 2014, day 22 of the operation, they planted trees in Be’er Sheva River Park as an act of solidarity with Israel.

“Planting trees is about regeneration and renewal. We plant in the name of the future. At the same time, we are pained by what is going on at the present, and we will plant a tree for every soldier who died giving his life for his country.”

The Hadassah Forest Grove at Beersheva River Park will eventually cover the entire area between the promenade and the Beit Eshel historical site. As Elisha explained, Beersheva River Park has been developed in an area that used to be the city of Beersheva's garbage dump. The river was filled with sewage and waste. A few years ago a decision was made to rehabilitate the stream bed and turn the ecological disaster into a park that would become a tourist attraction. KKL-JNF and its Friends worldwide, including from Germany, the USA and Canada, joined the project. The park already includes open spaces, an amphitheater, picnic areas, attractions, a promenade and historical sites that tell the story of the city from the dawn of history until the present.

In addition, there is an 80 dunam tract that is in the process of being transformed into a large artificial lake. The lake, along with the park’s green areas, will use 1.2 million cubic meters of recycled effluents annually.

Audrey Shimron, Executive Director of Haddasah Israel, told the group that her son is an IDF soldier who is fighting in Gaza. “That's how life in Israel is. We're fighting for our existence, but at the same time, we're making the country greener as an expression of our belief in the future.”

Beersheva River Park

Lavi Forest is a densely planted forest in the Upper Galilee area. Close by is Safed and Nazareth.

Lavie Forest expands over an area of some 3,000 dunam, and was developed with the help of KKL-JNF Friends worldwide.

Visitors plant one year old saplings which are specially grown and tended to in KKL-JNF nurseries. KKL-JNF foresters water the saplings and tend to them for a defined period of time, in order to help them survive, take root and acclimatize.

This beautiful forest is comprised of conifers, pines, eucalyptus, olive trees, carob trees and fig trees. There are rest stops and picnic areas throughout the woodlands, including special wheelchair accessible facilities for the disabled.

The forest is a refreshing and uplifting stopover for visitors en route to and from Galilee. Additional places of interest in Lavi forest include an archaeological park, the Olive Recreation Area, the South Africa Recreation Area, a Field Education Center, and the KKL-JNF regional tree nursery.

Lavi Forest

A 10,000 tree forest was planted in Martin Luther King Jr.’s honor within the Mount Turan Forest in the Upper Galilee region.

In the red earth on a hill in Biblical Galilee overlooking sites where Jesus preached, thousands of trees flourish on once barren land in a forest named in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.

Young trees planted there years ago have grown from saplings into a tall antidote to Israel's arid land.

When the slain civil rights leader's son, Martin Luther King III, visited Israel in 1987, he planted a pine sapling honoring his father and said: “This tree symbolizes the continuity of my father's mission.”

Many trees were already growing when the Jewish National Fund's Forest of the Righteous Gentiles established the King forest in 1976 with the ceremonial planting of 39 trees, symbolizing each year of his life.

The forest is in Turan, near Nazareth, said Robert Francks of the Jewish National Fund.

Mount Turan Forest Overlooking Beit Netofa Valley in Lower Galilee

The Swiss Forest or Switzerland Forest is a forest area on the western side of the Sea of Galilee in Israel, situated above the city of Tiberias.

The forest was established in 1928 by the Forestry Branch of the Mandatory Palestine government thanks to a contribution from friends of Keren Kayemeth KeIsrael-Jewish National Fund in Switzerland, which is how it got its name.

The forest was established to prevent flooding such as in the Great Flood of 1934 when mud and torrential floods destroyed property and caused a number of deaths in Tiberias. It continues under the direction of KKL-JNF.

Swiss Forest Lookout. City of Tiberias and Sea of Galilee is Below.