Arava Eco-Tour 2013

Tentative Itinerary - Subject to Change

Sunday, February 17th –  (Tel Aviv, Israel) Meet the group at our hotel in Tel Aviv for an introductory presentation, dinner and tour orientation. After orientation you will have time on your own for shopping, ice cream, walking the boardwalk or relaxing on the beach.

Monday, February 18th- (Jerusalem and Galilee) Leave the hotel after breakfast and begin our the tour with an exploration of one Tel Aviv’s desalination plants Continue to Jerusalem for waterways tour and hopefully there will be time to visit the Hezekiah Tunnels. If opportunity permits we will drive to a Palestinian Authority Area C for a discussion of the water challenges that affect the area. We will conclude the day at hotel in the Galil or the Golan.

Tuesday, February 19th- (Galil/Golan, Sakhnin, Israel) After an early start we will head toward the headwaters of the Golan at the Banias, explore neighboring Druze villages and visit the Sea of Galilee. We will conclude the day in a hotel in the Galil or the Golan.

Wednesday, February 20th- (Amman, Jordan) Depart at 7 am and begin the journey to cross into Jordan passing through Naharayim along the way. In the afternoon we will visit the King Abdullah canal and Ministry of Water, including the pumping station at Degania, where water from the Sea of Galilee is pumped to and from Jordan by cooperative agreement. Join us for dinner and discussion in a local restaurant with Arava Institute alumni and members of Friends of the Earth Middle East. You will have the opportunity to walk through Amman from the hotel to restaurant and back with the students.

Thursday, February 21st- (Dead Sea, Wadi Majib and Wadi Musa, Jordan) After breakfast, spend some time at Mount Nebo before continuing to the Ma’Ayn Hot Springs. Enjoy a picnic lunch overlooking the picturesque Dead Sea and cool off with a swim. Mid Afternoon the group will head to Petra where you will have time on your own to explore Wadi Musa and have dinner. Join the group at 8PM as Petra is transformed after the sun sets for the Petra Night tour.

Friday, February 22nd-  (Petra, Jordan)  Explore the painted vistas of Wadi Rum on a jeep tour and then cross back to Israel on the way to Kibbutz Ketura.

Saturday, February 23rd- (Kibbutz Ketura and Eilat, Israel) Splash down early for a morning snorkel tour via water taxis around the coast of Eilat.  In the afternoon take a walking tour of the Ketura orchards and solar fields. 

 Sunday, February 24th- (Kibbutz Ketura, Israel) After a walking tour of the Kibbutz and the Arava institute for Environmental Studies join the students for a discussion and join them in the Peacebuilding and Environmental Leadership Seminar (PELS). Dr. Tareq Abu Hamed will speak about the alternative energy research that is taking place at the Institute and joint programs in the region. There will be an opportunity to learn about Kibbutz Life and the group will join the Kibbutz for dinner.

Monday, February 25th- (Dead Sea, Israel and Susya, West Bank) Leave Ketura at 6 am to ride along the Dead Sea to tour the sinkholes on the way to the Susya Bedouin Village biodigesters.

Still to be scheduled: visits to interesting environmental projects, stops at small homesteads and local eateries, lectures, and meetings with Arava Institute students, alumni and faculty.