Length: 1 hour to a full day
Mode of Transport: Mountain bike or walking (not stroller or wheelchair friendly)
Why Go? Wide open spaces, winter wildflower delight, archeology, caves!
Toilets? Not that I saw, but so many bushes to pick from
What to Bring? Bikes if you got 'em, water, snacks, baby carriers, your dog, flashlight
Entrance Fee? Free, but bike rentals will run you 70 shek/2 hrs
We were looking to spice it up a bit and take our bikes out for a spin in nature. Nothing too cray since I would be towing the girls - aka an extra 27 kilo, but picturesque and close to the center. Voila; thanks to some philanthropic Frenchies, Park Adulam was given a face lift in 2008, and made for a fabulous Saturday adventure. It's a 50 square km nature park next to Beit Shemesh in the Ella Valley with choose-your-own adventure trails suitable for hiking, biking, ATVs and 4X4s. There are marked trails, but feel free to park your car on the side of the road, walk a few meters into the woods and dig into that jachnun. There is so much space in the park, you can actually find a piece of shaded greenery without Menachem, Shoshi and their grandkids on top of you. And archeology lovers, heart be still - we got (*nerd alert*) a Second Temple Period village fully equipped with a wine press and mikvah.
I'll share our trip, but just know there are endless opportunities. You can be as active or as inactive as you choose here - up to you. Just make sure you go in the winter when the flowers are in bloom and the wheat fields are dripping green. If you go in the summer, you'll be like what the f* is this b* talking about? I'm hot and this place looks like it will go up in flames any minute. Feel me?
We went for a bike-ancient ruins-bike combo. It was rad. We drove straight to Nekudat Motza ("Trail Head") נקודת מוצא to park the car. There is a bike rental shop here, also open on Shabbat, but we brought our own gear and took their free map. There are two family friendly bike options: 1. the north trail (7.5 km loop) and south trail (11.5 km loop). We opted for the shorter one. I had my cruiser/hybrid bike, but would have preferred my mountain bike. The path is 90% paved, with the exception of 10% dirt road at the very end. The first half is flat + steady uphill and the second half is flat + steady downhill. Nothing too intense, but there were a few parts I had to push my bike up the uphill, due to the weight of the girls. Worth noting, the paved path is shared with cars, which did drive by here and there. Overall, I think the bike ride is appropriate for the age of 9+.
We followed the KKL signs pointing us in the direction of the north trail (צפון) which brought us from the green trail to the blue to the archeological site of Hurvat Itri. We left our bikes next to a family and asked them to keep a watchful eye on them. Note - if you have a bike lock, bring it because there is a fence you can tie it to. We hiked another 300 meters up to the ruins. For those not biking, you can drive and park here. Enter Hurvat Itri into Google Maps to take you there directly.
Back in the day, Hurvat Itri was like a Subway/McDonald's/Cracker Barrel for pilgrims on their way to sacrifice at the Second Temple. The people here made their living from selling their home cookin' to those passing by on their journey . Yup, a modern day truck stop. And since this was a Jewish village, they had a ritual bath, typical homes, and a winepress. You also see lots of vineyards in the area, which prove it's great land for harvesting. Plus the area is made from soft chalk, so people dug caves into the ground to store water, wine, goods, pigeons, you name it. Fast forward to the Bar Kochba Revolt, the caves were used as hideouts for Jews escaping the Romans.
I know, heavy stuff. Let me lighten the mood - all these bodacious rocks and caves make for an EXCELLENT playground for your kids. Mine had a great time climbing on the walls playing some cave peek-a-boo. So. Many. Caves. This is a great excuse to bust out that headlamp you always wanted to use, aside from power outages in your apartment.
In the winter the place is full of רקפת/cyclamen, כלניות/anemones, and נרקיס/daffodils. So much color everywhere I just wanted to soak it all in. Including our lunch break, we spent an hour at the site, and could have stayed longer but the little one was getting crank as naptime approached.
We finished up the second part of the bike ride, which continues on the black. The next part is marked white on the map, but it's actually not marked at all in real life. Just make sure to look for the שביל עממי צפוני נחל שוע signs. The path will turn left onto a dirt road and then you will turn right and a quick left into the yellow gates of Moshav Tzafririm and then back to the bike shop/parking lot. Tah-dah!
Enjoy! It was a bit like heaven on earth. Just make sure, as always, to get there early if you want to beat the crowds. We left around 13:00 and hit heavy traffic getting out of the park. Don't worry, the baby was asleep and the big one had Netflix. I ate their left over dubonim chips...shhh! See, everyone was happy.
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