Nahal HaBanias/photo: Nature and Parks Authority
It almost goes without saying that Passover is the holiday of travel in the country, it is the holiday in which thousands of Israelis take advantage of the holiday to enjoy all the goodness that our nature has to offer. The Hermon Reserve, the beautiful open areas of the Galilee, up to the coral reserve in Eilat - on the Spring Festival, the people of Israel come out every year en masse, as if they left Egypt to travel and feel the land with their feet.
Last year, more than 800,000 travelers went out and celebrated the holiday in nature, but this year is unlike any year that has passed over the State of Israel in the past 75 years. The Spring Festival and freedom do not feel the same, when about 180,000 of the country's residents are evacuated and evacuated, away from their homes for over six months, and about 133 of the country's residents are not free at all and are just waiting for freedom to arrive.
Like the many settlements that stand deserted in the north and west of the country, so do the nature reserves, the open spaces and the national parks in the country located in the combat zones. At the height of their beauty, they sit closed, waiting for visitors who will just return. "On October 7, a number of sites throughout the country were closed to the public, especially in the Upper Galilee region," says Sharit Falchi Miara, a visitor officer in the North District at the Nature and Parks Authority. "Even though the sites have been closed, nature has not been closed. Nature continues to grow, grow and exist alongside the thundering cannons and the whistling missiles, alongside the great pain that exists in our country at this time. In addition, this year we received many and significant rains that brought with them spectacular blooms, an impressive flow of streams and waterfalls that flow strongly A small site team comes every morning to the nature reserves and national parks that are closed to preserve, nurture and be ready for this day that we all wish to reach, that day that will announce a routine There is the ability to wait and as soon as possible - he will be here for the public that is so thirsty for him."
So to mark the holiday, we asked the Nature and Gardens Authority to give us a small taste of the places we all know and love in the Hula Valley and the Upper Galilee, which are always full of travelers on holidays, and now stand empty and desolate. This is how they look after more than six months without visitors.
Get pissed off at the Banias
You said Pesach, you said Banias, one of the ten most popular gardens during Passover in recent years among travelers in Israel. The Nahal Hermon Banias nature reserve, chosen last year by Walla surfers as the most beautiful place in Israel, is known for its spectacular beauty all year round, but especially in spring and during Passover. Last year, more than 13 thousand visitors entered the reserve during the week of the holiday, enjoying the stream, the nature and the flora in this amazing spot. For half a year now the site has been desolate, with no visitors except for the employees of the Nature and Parks Authority who maintain the place against the damage of the war.
"The Banias is a beautiful reserve all year round, but in my heart there is always some kind of anticipation for winter and spring, when the water reservoirs fill up, the flow of the stream rises and becomes most impressive, the wild life in the reserve awakens and the blossoms give the reserve a magical appearance (even more so than the rest of the year)". Says the site manager Ofer Shanar. "In November-December the salamanders and hermon snails emerge, in February-March the bat flocks return to us and in March-April we foresee the expansion of the mammal families in the reserve (wild boars, jackals, deer, etc.). An important part of all this beauty is the ability of the visitors to experience it and these days , when I arrive at the reserve, after the amazement that repeats itself over and over again from the green in the eyes and the impressive flows, I can't help but feel sad that we can't share all of this this year with the people of Israel."
Horesh Tal: spring has gone so we are preparing for summer
Horesh Tal National Park is one of the most spectacular gardens due to amazing water points and is one of our favorite nature reserves in the whole country and in the north in particular. Although the garden is closed in the shadow of the war, the Authority's teams continue to preserve and maintain the garden along with preserving the local nature and wildlife in the national park.
"Even during the war, we continued to work," says the site's director Rabia Devos. "The National Park is a national resource that we as an authority have been entrusted with, and it is our duty to preserve the values of nature and heritage also and especially in times of war. We continue to take care of the ancient oaks located in the National Park, the park staff is mowing the tall grass that grew after the rains to prepare for the summer and the fires that can come in the shadow of the war, And we continue to take care of and protect the local herd of donkeys in the park. If we don't maintain and protect the park during the fighting, the facilities and nature we are entrusted to protect will be destroyed and damaged. We will continue to protect nature for the public until the day when everyone can return and enjoy it, of course In order to maintain the directives of the Home Front Command and maintain the safety of the work teams. I am already waiting and expecting that the Israeli public will return to travel and enjoy nature at its peak with us."
Tel Dan: Fragments of a downed newspaper were found
At the Tel Dan Nature Reserve, the Authority's teams continue to maintain and improve the place in preparation for the day when the reserve will once again be filled with travelers. Today the reserve is completely closed and there is no entrance for visitors, only two staff members walk around it every day, evading the alarms. Ramadan Issa, the work manager at the reserve, says: "The entire area has been evacuated, we are only doing maintenance work in the area to maintain the place, we did not suffer any damage in the reserve from the war, except for fragments of downed anti-aircraft missiles that fell in the reserve complex that we had to evacuate. The reserve is full of water after the rains, the flowers bloom and nature continues to ripen."
The open spaces are deserted by visitors
While the regulated national parks remained closed, the open areas also remained largely orphaned from visitors for a long time. For those who have already managed to forget, not long ago we were supposed to mark the "Red South" period in which the public every year goes out in droves to enjoy the amazing blooming of the anemones mainly in the south of the country, this year of course, the red south has taken on a different meaning, and like it also the open areas in the north which are at the height of the beautiful blooming season. "In the open areas we see a very slow rate of hikers, many areas have also been closed by the IDF decision (general's order) because they are ranged and unsafe," says Hadas Ron Kahaner, inspector of the Eastern Upper Galilee region of the Nature and Parks Authority.
Nature reserves, national parks and open areas They do not, of course, belong only to humans. They are the habitat of the animals, who, unlike us, did not have the ability to evacuate to the safe areas. "The war period is different from the Corona period," explains Yeftah Sinai, an ecologist of the Upper Galilee
Authority , compared to the Corona period when there were very few travelers in the open areas, the areas during war are not empty. This year, because of the situation, we could not carry out the annual deer count in the Upper Galilee region, and we still do not know what the state of the population is. Even the animals that carry a transmitter on them do not necessarily show us the complete screen image - because just like every Israeli nation has a GPS problem, so does the Nature Authority and the transmitters mounted on wild animals. We change the ways in which we preserve nature according to the situation. For example, we had to change the area where we return donkeys to the wild, because the area where we usually release donkeys is at risk and we are not allowed to enter it. We sometimes receive pictures from soldiers who serve in the north and see the deterioration in those areas, but it is very difficult to paint a complete picture."
Yiftah explains that the situation is not painted in black and white. "It is difficult at the moment to say what the full consequences are for the wildlife due to the war or due to the change in the factors operating in the open areas and the damage in the habitats. What is certain is that the Nature and Parks Authority is ready for the day when they can return to the territory and restore everything that was damaged," he says.
Recovering in the north of the Negev
But not everything is black, after all - it's about nature, and like it the national parks and reserves are starting to reopen. At the beginning of this month, the Annunciation National Park - Eshkol Park was re-opened. From the beginning of the war, the park was used as a military assembly point, but today the park is once again standing and waiting for visitors, eager to show off its beauty. The overnight parking lot in Tel Ashkelon National Park has also reopened, after being closed on that cursed day.
"Our nature is waiting for us there, where we left it about six months ago," says the Authority, "it continues to bloom and grow, the animals continue to give birth and cut grass. Nature is waiting for us, reminding us that one day soon, life will continue. While the north of the country is still not safe in part , the rest of the country is beautiful and flourishing and nature can help us in our self-rehabilitation process."