The Jesus Trail is a marvelous new way for Christian visitors to Israel to feel, through all five senses, and their feet, the ministry of Jesus in the Galilee and to experience the land the way the ancients did.
The Jesus Trail meets the desire of many Christians to understand how the land reflects Scripture. Designed to be walked over three or four days, the 65-kilometer (40-mile) trail leads to Nazareth, Sepphoris, Cana, the Arbel Cliffs, Tabgha, Capernaum and the Mount of Beatitudes, Tiberias and the Jordan River. Among many highlights, in early spring, you’ll stop to take a field of bright red anemones or yellow daisies––Jesus’ “lilies of the field” (Luke 12:27). Walking a path between wild oats and thistles and a beautifully cultivated field, Jesus’ famed Parable of the Sower (Matt. 13:3-9) makes perfect sense. Climbing to Sepphoris, near Nazareth, the city Jesus might have known as a boy, the image of the “city on a hill” (Matt. 5:14) comes into unforgettable perspective.
The Galilee is as multi-cultural now as when Jesus interacted with its many peoples. Christians talking the Jesus Trail will enjoy the hospitality of local people of all faiths and ethnic groups, adding a unique dimension to their experience, whether in home-stays, restaurants, hotels, historic sites, and on the trail itself.
Walkers can cover the trail at once or in segments, and the level of challenge is flexible. Overnight options extend from hotels, owner-operated bed-and-breakfasts to overnight camping, and there are many places to buy water and food along the way. Public buses are available at most starting and end-points.
From mid-December 2008, a volunteer will be on hand daily to meet walkers and accompany them along the first day of the Jesus Trail, from Nazareth to Sepphoris and Cana. For more information: www.jesustrail.com.