Touring Israel with a tour guide

Lagaat Bahayot   In the heart of the  Givat Haim  region, this wonderful petting zoo & agricultural farm offers a truly special, up-close, hands-on experience with nature. It's not a typical zoo where you peer through fences; here, the animals roam freely, & you're invited to interact with & feed them. What makes it a must-visit? The farm is home to many friendly creatures such as goats, sheep, rabbits, guinea pigs & even the occasional llama or pony. They are really well-cared for & absolutely love the attention from visitors. Set in the agricultural fields of the Hefer Valley, the farm offers a rustic atmosphere that's perfect for a relaxing family afternoon. Especially in the spring when the wild flowers bloom around the enclosures. Perfect for All Ages:  Whether you're travelling with young children who want to bottle-feed the baby goats, or you are adults looking for a mindful break from city life, this place delivers! Authentic Farm Experien...

The Terebinth tree (Pistacia atlantica) This one was photographed in the Valley of Elah - which is most famous as the biblical site where David defeated Goliath. Known for its resilience, this cousin of the pistachio & the mastic tree thrives in the harshest of climates, offering shade where little else grows. Here are 3 reasons to appreciate this natural wonder: *Superpower: It can survive with almost no water, making it a crucial "guardian" against desertification. *Medicinal Secret: Its resin, known as "terebinth," has been used for centuries in traditional medicine to soothe ailments. *Wildlife Haven: Its small, red fruits are a vital food source for birds & animals in harsh environments. Humans can also safely eat terebinth fruit; they have a rich, nutty flavour & are very nutritious, containing high amounts of dietary fiber, healthy fats, & antioxidants, The ripe berries are roasted & ground to make a popular caffeine-free, nutty beverage c...

The Sinai agama (Pseudotrapelus sinaitus" Israel has 93 species of reptiles, living from the Negev Desert to the Red Sea, from the Jordan River to the Judaean Mountains. The Sinai agama is one of the most dazzling reptiles you'll find in Israel! 💙 Why So Blue? During the breeding season (spring to early summer), the male undergoes a spectacular transformation from a dull sandy brown to a vibrant turquoise or cobalt blue to attract females . Outside breeding season, he fades back to camouflage mode to blend with the rocks. 🦎 What She Looks Like Females and juveniles stay greyish-brown all year round, but females have a crescent-shaped red patch on each side just behind the front legs. 📏 Size & Shape Grows to about 18 cm (7 inches) , with the long, slender tail accounting for up to two-thirds of that length. Their long legs give them an upright stance and make them excellent climbers. 🏜️ Where to Find Them Found across Israel's rocky deserts, mountain slopes ...

The Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus) Last year, in 2025, for the first time ever, flamingos decided to skip their usual migration north & spend the entire summer at Hula Lake in the Upper Galilee! Over the past decade, they have gone from being rare visitors, to regular migratory birds in Israel, usually spotted during spring & autumn migrations. But this year, dozens have chosen to stay through the hottest months. Some experts are asking: are we witnessing a new era? Winter for cranes, summer for flamingos? Flamingos typically prefer salty, algae-rich lakes & come from places like Turkey & Iran. Hula Lake is freshwater - yet over 100 flamingos are currently calling it home. Why Pink? Their iconic colour comes from their diet! Algae, tiny crustaceans & plankton contain carotenoids, the same pigments that make carrots orange. Without this special menu, they'd actually be grey. Where to Spot Them: Hula Lake (Agmon HaHula) Eilat's salt ponds - roughly...

The Desert Yam/ Tailly Weed (Ochradenus baccatus known in Hebrew as the Richpetan Midbari (רִכְפְּתָן מִדְבָּרִי) This incredible shrub is a true survivor of the Israeli desert. 🏜️ Desert Adaptations: A common sight in the deserts of Israel, this shrub drops its leaves quickly to save water in the arid habitat. 💣 The "Mustard Oil Bomb": Its sweet, white berries hide a secret weapon. When a mouse or bird bites into a seed, a chemical reaction creates a pungent mustard-like toxin! 🤯 It's a defense mechanism called the "mustard oil bomb" 🐭 Turning Enemies into Allies: The desert spiny mouse gets a mouthful of this spicy chemical & spits the seeds out - intact! This turns the seed-eater into an accidental seed-disperser, helping the plant spread far & wide. In fact, seeds that are spat out have double the germination rate! 🌸 A Year-Round Bloomer: Unlike many plants, this shrub can flower continuously, using winter rains for its main reproduction ...

The Little Fire Ant (Wasmannia auropunctata) 🏡 Habitat Native to Central & South America, this ant arrived in Israel around 1998 & was identified in 2005 - the first record of this species in open areas outside the tropics. It now infests 26 localities across Israel, mostly in irrigated gardens, parks & urban areas. Found from Kiryat Shmona to Eilat, it survives harsh conditions with temperatures as low as 6°C & 5–12 rainless months. Nests hide under debris, in trees,beneath flowerpots & even in wall voids . 🐝 Breeding This ant forms one giant clonal supercolony throughout Israel, with colonies cooperating due to genetic similarity. A single nest contains multiple queens, workers, pupae, larvae & eggs. The species reproduces clonally, making it exceptionally resilient & difficult to eradicate. 🌸 Food Polyphagous & opportunistic - feeds on honeydew from aphids & scales, dead & living arthropods, nectar & plant material. They trail along bui...

The Dusky Shark (Carcharhinus obscurus) 🏡 Habitat Found in warm & temperate waters worldwide, the dusky shark is considered extremely rare in the Mediterranean. However, along Israel's coastline, a unique seasonal aggregation occurs at the Orot Rabin power station in Hadera - 10 minutes from my home! Warm water discharged from the cooling system attracts dozens of sharks each winter. During spring, warming sea temperatures expand their roaming range along the entire Israeli coast, with sightings reported at Beit Yanai & the Alexander Stream estuary. 🐝 Breeding The Hadera sharks are exclusively adult female dusky sharks. Scientists believe the warm effluent may help with thermoregulation & gestation, though the site does NOT function as a nursery, parturition, or mating area . The population includes 2 distinct genetic lineages - one Indo-Pacific & one Atlantic - indicating migration through the Suez Canal . 🌸 Food A predator feeding primarily on fish, cephalopods...

The Arabian wolf (Canis lupus arabs) 🏡 Habitat The smallest wolf in the world is f ound in the hyper-arid Negev Desert & Arava Valley, where temperatures exceed 45°C in summer. With only 20–50 mm of annual rainfall, this is one of the harshest environments on earth. Between 100–150 Arabian wolves live across this region, making Israel home to the only stable population of this endangered subspecies. They are strongly protected under Israel's 1955 Wildlife Protection Law 🐝 Breeding Unlike northern wolves, Arabian wolves do not live in large packs. They hunt in pairs or small groups of 3–4 animals, likely due to limited desert food resources. Litters typically contain 2–3 pups, born blind & nursed for 8 weeks before parents regurgitate food. During pupping season, they become territorial to protect their young. Their small body size - averaging just 20 kg & 66 cm at shoulder height - is an adaptation to the desert heat 🌸 Food Omnivorous and opportunistic. They consume ...

Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta caretta) This picture was taken of a sea turtle found on Tel Aviv Harbour esplanade (18 April 2013). Notice the head lesion, & white barnacles on its shell.  🏡 Habitat Loggerheads roam the warm & temperate waters of the Mediterranean Sea. In Israel, they are found along the entire coastline, from Rosh Hanikra in the north to Ashkelon & Gaza in the south. Females come ashore to nest on Israel's sandy beaches - May - August, with key nesting sites including Palmachim, Nitzanim, the Sharon coast - & Atlit where these hatchlings were photographed. 🐝 Breeding Females return to the very beaches where they were born, sometimes 30 years later, to lay their eggs. Each female nests 2–4 times per season, laying 100–120 eggs per nest. After incubating for 50–70 days in the warm sand, hatchlings emerge at night & race to the sea. Only 1 in 1,000 survives to adulthood. 🌸 Food Powerful jaws crush hard-shelled prey. Adults feed on crabs, mollus...

The Sand Partridge (Ammoperdix heyi) 🏡 Habitat Found across Israel's Negev , Dead Sea Valley & Eilat Mountains. They thrive in rocky, boulder-strewn slopes & sandy-bottomed wadis up to 2,000 metres elevation. They can survive in extreme arid environments but always stay near water sources, which they visit every morning to drink 🐝 Breeding Breeding season is from February - August. Nests are simple ground scrapes, sometimes lined with grass or feathers, or just tucked under a bush or rock crevice. Females lay 5-14 pale cream or pinkish eggs & incubate alone for 21-24 days. Chicks fledge at 9-20 days & reach full size by 30 days 🌸 Food An omnivorous diet: seeds from Acacia trees & desert grasses, berries from Salvadora persica (toothbrush tree) & Commiphora (myrrh), plus insects, especially locusts. They forage along the bottoms of wadis, where seasonal rains create bursts of vegetation. Fun fact: In later summer & early autumn, families come together ...

Honey bee in Jerusalem 3,000 year old beehive Honey produced in the Lower Galilee The Honey Bee ( Apis mellifera) Did you know the oldest apiary in the world was discovered a little over an hour from Zichron Ya’akov? Our upcoming ‘Milk & Honey’ tour will take you to see the clay hives thought to have a production capacity of 500kg of honey per year during the reign of kings David & Solomon. We'll also be visiting a current honey (& silk) farm, at the foothil of Mount Tabor, & exploring the history of the development of food technology in Israel. T aking you back 8,000 years in time to a community who made & decorated the first ceramic pottery in Israel for storing dairy products; we'll visit a dairy farm & a farm which harnesses some of the the most ground breaking farming principles. Did you know one honey bee colony can pollinate up to 300 million flowers every single day? That’s not just amazing - it’s essential. 🏡 Habitat Honey bees nest in tree ca...