Israel is a tiny country­­––only about 29,000 square kilometers––and yet, it is a place of amazing variety, with globally unique contrasts. For example, central Israel is the most populous place on earth, and yet, having planted over 240 million trees, it is the only country that ended the 20th century with more trees than it started with! Israel’s location, bridging Africa, Asia and Europe, has blessed it with four bio-geographical zones––Mediterranean, steppe, desert and African – make it unique worldwide in terms of its combination and variety of climate, flora and fauna. For comparison’s sake, Israel has 2,600 species of wild plants. Great Britain, into which Israel can fit almost 10 times, has a “mere” 1,756. And a whopping 500 million birds fill Israel’s skies on their spectacular semi-annual intercontinental migration. 

Nothing underscores the variety of Israel’s attractions more than realizing that within a few hours you can go from the snowy heights of Mount Hermon to the Judean Desert and the saltiest sea on earth, the Dead Sea, while visiting ancient biblical cities, covered markets and a high-rise metropolis on the way. This is what makes Israel truly a destination with something for everyone.