Day 2 -
The first stage started at the village of
Neve Ativ, located on the slopes of the Hermon Mountain and climbed up to the Druze
village of 'Masade'. The stage continued from north to south across the marvelous
scenery of the Golan Heights with the Hula Valley to the right and the Golan dormant
volcanoes to the left. After crossing the town of Qazrin and passing by the ancient
city of Gamla we we started descending towards the Sea of Galilee on a long stretched
downhill with the view of the lake in front of us. Upon reaching the lake we circled
it around its north end passing by 'Caper Naum' and 'Tabgha' and then climbed up
to the Mountain of Beatitudes where we finished the stage and visitted the monastery.
Day 1 -
Day 3 -
This stage started at the Elah valley at the Judea
Mountains at the edge of Jerusalem. We rode across the Judea region -
Day 4 -
This day was a rest day. After spending the morning on the shore
of the Dead Sea, we spent the afternoon at the old city of Jerusalem. We visitted
the Mount of Olives, the Via Dolorosa, the Wailing Wall and the church of the holy
sepulcher.
Day 5 -
This stage started at the Arava valley just 50
km south to the Dead Sea and went through all the geological marvels of the Negev
desert. We started cycling west and entered the Negev desert. After 10 km we reached
the climb of the 'Akrabim ascent'. Continuing to the spectacular climb we entered
the 'Large crater' and through it. After climbing out of the crater we crossed the
town of Yeruham and we then continued our cycling heading south across the Negev
desert until the town of Mizpe Ramon – just on top of the Ramon crater edge. The
stage finished here at the hotel..
Day 6 -
This stage was the ultimate desert cycling experience.
We started cycling at the hotel and rode down to the Ramon crater. We then rode through
the magnificent crater and across the dazzling wilderness of the desert. After 140
km we reached the top of the Eilat Mountains and then started descending towards
the city of Eilat with the view of the Red Sea slowly being revealed in front of
us. The tour ended at the hotel located on the shore of the Red Sea inside the city
of Eilat ....... altogether a very memorable journey.
In February 2010 Maurizio fulfilled another ambition and took part in a tour of Israel, passing through many historic towns and landmarks. The tour took 6 days to complete and covered 530 km of cycling from the north to the south of Israel, exploring the holy land in an experience like no other.
