8. Shomron Day Tours

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Please note: the following tours have been temporarily discontinued. Please visit this link
 and  this link for other options.

Experience the Shomron firsthand via these exciting tours:

1. Shomron Safari Adventure
2. Shomron Breakfast Club
3. Shomron Discovery Tour


1. Shomron Safari Adventure

Escape the city and take a break...join the Shomron Safari Adventure...where it's fun to be a kid!

Life's quiet and peaceful down at the ranch. The animals at Chai Bar Yakir mini safari are awaiting your kids' visit!

The adventure starts at Yad L'banim, Ra'anana, 8 a.m Friday. Board the bus and take a scenic ride up into the exhilirating Shomron hills. Within fifty minutes you're at the Chai Bar Yakir mini safari, a charming animal habitat and nature spot adjacent to the Samarian settlement of Yakir, nestled in the mountains overlooking the Nachal Kana Nature Reserve.

This South American Coati will delight children of all ages.

At the Chai Bar you'll see all kinds of animals: monkeys, emus (ostrich family), peacocks, South American coati (racoon family), rams, gazelles, ibex, deer, etc. Our host Yehuda, who founded and operates this animal sanctuary, will teach you everything you ever wanted to know (and maybe more) about these animals and will give you an opportunity to pet them and feed them. Is your child afraid of animals? Leave it to Yehuda. He'll have your kid petting one of his creatures before the day is over.

Pomegranite trees grow wild at the Chai Bar Yakir

Explore the lush grounds of the sanctuary with Yehuda as your guide. In Hebrew, he will teach you in a kid-friendly way about the different varieties of herbs and trees which grow wild on his farm. Then, take a load off you feet and relax at one of the picnic tables. Yehuda will make for you in his taboun one of his famous kosher pitot - unlike anything you've ever tasted and big enough to be your meal. Because he'll be making a big batch, he will even demonstrate for the kids the mitzvah of hafrashat challah. Enjoy your pita-meal with it a cup of tea brewed with herbs and leaves picked right off the plants.

Bring a raw bird or a slab of meat, leave with dinner.
Yehuda will smoke cook your meal in his wood-burning in-ground taboun.

              


Pick a shady spot to have your breakfast. Homemade pita and herbal tea are included.

After you've had enough of the farm, it's off to the Ramat Gilad outpost in Karnei Shomron to see the spectacular views it offers. From the top you get a sweeping panoramic view of the entire center of the country, from Gadera to Hadera. Hear a special guest speaker explain to you and the kids what this place is all about.

Taking in the views at the Ramat Gilad outpost.

Finally, it's back on the bus for the final leg home. Arrive back at Yad L'banim Ra'anana around 2:30 p.m. Shabbat shalom.

Appropriate for kids of all ages. Only NIS 99 / US $30 per person, advanced registration required.
To reserve a bus seat on the next outing, please email: mbgahg@netvision.net.il

2. Shomron Breakfast Club

.                                                 Enjoy a delicious full course breakfast while overlooking the sumptuous Shomron landscape.


The day begins at 8 a.m. Friday when the bus pulls out of Yad L'banim Ra'anana, headed for the Shomron. Around 8:45 you arrive at Hatzrif Shel Tamari (Tamari's Cabin), a rustic restaurant gem nestled in the Shomron hills. Located in Chavat Yair, an outpost situated between the settlements of Nofim and Yakir, this magical and unexpected mountain hideaway offers an all-you-can-eat kosher * breakfast menu, fresh mountain air and stunning views of the Kana Nature Reserve. After breakfast hear a riveting presentation by veteran leaders of the settlement movement.




At 400 meters above sea level, this restaurant has lots of atmosphere!

                                                 



Your hostesses serving up breakfasts and smiles.

                                   
Next it's off to Kedumim, home to the Kedem Archeological Museum, where you'll get a complete English tour of the exhibits. The museum houses many rare artifacts found on site when construction excavations in the early 1970's uncovered an ancient settlement dating back to the Early Bronze period, some 5000 years ago.





Ancient Samaritan mezzuzah

                                                                                                 




Bronze Age period findings displayed at the museum

                                                                             
Then, on the way back to Ra'anana, stop over at the strategic Ramat Gilad outpost in Karnei Shomron for a sweeping view of the coastal plain, from where you can see from Gadera to Hadera. Our English speaking guide Michael Teplow will explain why the strategic Samarian hilltops are essential to Israel's security.



Taking in the views at the Ramat Gilad outpost.

                                                          

Finally, it's back on the bus for the final leg home. Arrive at Yad L'banim Ra'anana around 2:30 p.m. Shabbat shalom.

Appropriate for the whole family. Only NIS 149 / US $45 per person, advanced registration required.
To reserve a bus seat on the next outing, please email: mbgahg@netvision.net.il

* Hatzrif Shel Tamari is small family-run business and as such cannot afford the fees charged by the Rabbinical Authority for a kosher certificate. However, the women who run the restaurant are known to be Torah observant, G-d fearing Jews who keep a strictly kosher kitchen, serving only Mehadrin food and Chaslat bug-free vegetables. Rabbi Aharon Cohen, Chief Rabbi of Yakir, will vouch for their kashrut. He can be reached at (052) 350-0523.

3. Shomron Discovery Tour

A view of Northern Samaria from the Mt. Kabir lookout, Elon Moreh.

                                              
                       The enchanting Shomron countryside - right in your own backyard.

The rolling hills of Samaria, the cradle of the Jewish Nation, present a mosaic of rocky hilltops and fertile valleys, dotted with groves of age-old, silver-green olive trees. The terraced hillsides, first developed by farmers in ancient times, blend into the natural landscape. Now in full bloom, the Shomron Discovery Tour takes you to explore this vast and unspoiled countryside. 

A view of Nachal Kana, in Karnei Shomron, the Biblical border of Ephraim and Menashe.

                                             

The trip begins at Yad L'banim Ra'anana 9 A.M. Friday and returns 3 P.M. Our English speaking guide, Michael Teplow, accompanies you throughout the journey as the bus climbs the gently sloping hills, stopping at outposts and lookouts along the way. You will meet the brave pioneers who live in these outposts and will be treated to a rare inside glimpse of these fledgling Jewish communities that they built with their own hands. Meet with these "settlers" face-to-face, talk with them and understand why they are here. Admire their spirit, see their vision and be strengthened by their optimism for the future. You may just walk away with a whole new perspective on these modern-day chalutzim and on this fascinating part of our Jewish homeland.

Close-up of the mountaintop fortress of Moshe Zar, legendary Shomron pioneer and land redeemer.

                                                   

Take in the fresh mountain air and see breathtaking views of Central Israel and surrounding countryside from the strategic heights. On a clear day you can gaze upon the sweeping vistas of the 130 kilometer coastline, from Ashkelon to the Carmel Mountains, plainly visible below.

The tour is designed to show you how close the Shomron is - just 25 minutes from Ra'anana - and to introduce you to this magnificent but misunderstood and under-appreciated heartland region.

This tour is unique - no one else offers anything like it! Take it from those who have already experienced the Shomron Discovery Tour:

"...a superior tour of the Shomron that most of us have never seen."

"I...learned a tremendous amount about the area, its strategic importance, and met many of the settlers that are brave enough to settle in some of these areas."

"I... came away [understanding] the precariousness of our situation here."

"Thank you so much for organizing this trip...truly an experience!"

"I thought this trip was amazing. It made a profound impact on me."

"Last Friday's tiyul...was undoubtedly the highlight of my week..."

Don't miss this unique Eretz Yisrael experience!                                                 

          

Only NIS 75 / US $25 per person, advanced registration required. To reserve a bus seat on the next tour, please email: mbgahg@netvision.net.il