An Epic 5-Day Adventure on the Israel Bike Trail

The Israel National Bike Trail, also known simply as the "Israel Bike Trail" or "IBT," is conceptualized as a long-distance mountain bike trail that will span the entire country of Israel, from north to south. Eventually, it will run from Eilat to Mount Herman and "will be composed of 27 segments, passing through Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and the Golan Heights," according to Wikipedia.

This epic point-to-point bikepacking route offers challenging, exposed desert mountain biking. The trail tread is composed of sand and loose dirt, and plenty of sharp, challenging rock. These rocky trails cross desolate basins and lead to vaulted overlooks across the majestic landscape.

The trail passes through small towns along the way, offering opportunities to re-supply. Even so, riders should try to be as self-sufficient as possible to cope with the challenges of the arid, unforgiving environment. It can be difficult to know for sure when you'll next be able to fill your water bottles, so whenever you have the chance to fill up and re-supply, it's a good idea to take it!

The goal of the Israel Bike Trail "is to encourage bicycle tourism, both foreign and from within Israel," according to IBT.org.il. Therefore, the route showcases the absolute best that Israel has to offer. "Whoever rides the entire length of the trail will pass through the most important national sites and cross the country's most magnificent landscapes, while experiencing Israel's diversity of culture and types of communities along the way," IBT continues.

While the IBT has not yet been completed in its entirety, the first sections of the trail to open span from Mitzpe Ramon in the north to the southern terminus of Eilat. The segments shown here, however, only span from Mitzpe Ramon to Neot Semadar.

The segments shown in this guidebook provide a fantastic 5-day itinerary on the IBT that highlights some of the best singletrack mountain biking in the Negev Desert. While you can definitely keep going and add another 3-4 days to reach Eilat, the sections shown here offer some of the highest-quality mountain biking in all of Israel! This is a true bang-for-your buck itinerary—enjoy it!

Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_National_Bike_Trail
http://theintexperience.com/about-the-trail/bicycles/
https://ibt.org.il/en/