About 90,000 Visit Israel’s Nature Reserves and National Parks on Election Day

About 90,000 people visited Israel’s nature reserves and national parks on October 27, Election Day, according to figures from the Israel Nature and Parks Authority. The total included approximately 2,000 tourists. The busiest locations included Yarkon–Tel Afek, Caesarea, Ashkelon, Ein Hemed and Beit Guvrin national parks, along with Ein Afek Nature Reserve. About 1,000 people also stayed overnight at the authority’s campgrounds before going to vote in the morning. Eshkol, Masada West and Mamshit were the leading overnight destinations. Shlomit Shavit, head of the authority’s Communications, Public and Community Division, welcomed visitors who chose to “combine voting at the polls with spending time in nature.” She also urged visitors to protect the natural surroundings and keep sites clean. Activities included “Mysteries in Time,” an interactive game offered at 15 national parks and reserves, using a WhatsApp bot and puzzles to introduce their history. Other programming included migration tours in the north, kite making and flying at Kochav HaYarden, guided tours and children’s activities at Ein Afek, and tours focused on burial caves, inscriptions and reliefs at Beit She’arim. Masada, Qumran, Banias and Arbel were among the prominent sites for tourists. The authority’s evening programming included “Nights of She’an” at Beit She’an, extended access to the thermal pools at Hamat Tiberias, and the “Masada From Sunset to Sunrise” presentation at Masada West.