Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you."

Genesis 13:17

Eduward has been in Israel for three months, living in Jerusalem and volunteering for the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, before he made his first trip to the Galilee.

Like many tourists, the Galilee was not at the top of Eduward's list of things to do. However,  after an invitation to walk the newly redeveloped Gospel Trail prompted him to visit, Eduward quickly realized that the Galilee offers much more than he had ever anticipated.

Walking where Jesus walked was an emotional trip and the high point of Eduward's visit to Israel.

"I'm recommending the Gospel Trail to everyone - Christian and even Jewish people as well, so they can experience where Jesus walked, see the scenery and  hike the trail," Eduward told Travelujah.

Photo Courtesy: Travelujah - The Gospel Trail

Jesus spent the majority of his life growing up in Nazareth, working in the community, walking the countryside, bringing his ministry of teaching and healing throughout the region and performing numerous miracles along the way from Cana to Tabgha. Even still, Nazareth and the Galilee as a whole have not yet evolved as an international destination and tourism to the region pales in comparison to Jerusalem. While more than 87 percent of Christian tourists visit Jerusalem, only 60 percent of Israel's Christian tourists visit the Galilee, up from less than 50 percent in 2009.

Why does the Galilee attract fewer Christians despite the fact that Jesus spent most of his life there?

Part of the answer lies in the fact that the Galilee region, despite offering an abundance of important sites, is relatively "off the beaten path' and not as easy to navigate on foot as Jerusalem, which hosts a concentration of sites proximate to each other.

In an effort to address this, the Israel Ministry of Tourism, along with its partners at the Jewish National Fund, began planning the Gospel Trail, a 60-kilometer hiking trail, 10 years ago. However, once the second intifada took root prompting a sharp drop in tourism plans for the Gospel Trail were put on hold.

Fast forward several years to 2010. Israel had experienced a dramatic rise in Christian tourism culminating  in a record-breaking 2.3 million Christian tourists, representing two thirds of the 3.45 million tourists who visited the country in 2010. The Christian sector was demonstrating the strongest growth of all sectors too. While Jewish tourism had grown from 800,000 to 1 million in the last five years, Christian tourism was up over fourfold, from just under 500,000 tourists in 2005 to 2.3 million tourists in 2010. Tourism officials made the Gospel Trail a priority and, at a cost of $600,000, the well marked trail was unveiled a couple months ago.

Photo credit: Travelujah.com Bishop Marcuzzo, Noaz Bar Nir and Rafi Ben Hur unveiling the new Gospel Trail marker

The Gospel Trail begins at the Mount of Precipice in Nazareth where, according to Luke 4:14-28, Jesus was rejected by his townsmen who threatened to throw him over the mountainside. The  trail travels down the ancient "Pilgrims Path" 500 meters to the Jezreel Valley below, and continues along the Nazareth Range providing views of the Mount Tabor, Kafr Kanna and travels, via the golani Junction to the Horns of Hattin  site of the clash between the Crusader forces and the Muslim armies under Saladin. It continues past the antiquities of Magdala to Tabgha, the Mount of Beatitudes, eventually ending at Capernaum and the Sea of Galilee.

The Gospel Trail experience offers the Christian faithful a unique opportunity to take a similar path to the one that Jesus would have trodden.

Additional branches of the trail will allow visitors to access other important sites. A new dock alongside Capernaum allows visitors to include a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee, where according to Mark 4:35, Jesus calmed the sea. With a ride to Ein Gev or Tiberias, groups can have the possibility of including prayer time or singing on the boat. Scripture readings, safety barriers, shaded rest areas and safety features are to be included and are expected to be in place along the trail shortly.

Photo Credit Travelujah.com Bishop Marcuzzo leading mass on the Sea of Galilee

The Gospel Trail is part of the Israel Ministry of Tourism's effort to broaden Israel's tourism product and reach new market segments like hikers and Christian youth groups. Pilgrimage is viewed as a natural means to self discovery and attracts young people seeking to connect to their spiritual roots. 

Father Atuire, director of Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi, the Vatican pilgrimage organizer responsible for organizing programs for 750,000 pilgrims annually, has been actively seeking to reach out to more Christians including youths, by offering alternative journeys of faith such as walking pilgrimages to Santiago de Compostela as well as social justice tours of Nepal and packages to World Youth Day.

The Gospel Trail is envisioned to serve a similar purpose: to connect youths to pilgrimage by walking in Jesus' footsteps. Pilgrimage is viewed as a natural means to self discovery and attracts young people seeking to connect to their spiritual roots. 

Latin Patriarchal Vicar Bishop Boutros Marcuzzo accompanied us along a leg of the Gospel Trail and  echoed his desire for young people to have a direct and spontaneous interaction with nature along the way.

Travelujah CEO Elisa Moed and Bishop Marcuzzo on the Gospel Trail

"We want young people to come," he told Travelujah. "And this trail is very encouraging for young people."

The Gospel Trail was developed in consultation with Evangelical, Protestant and Orthodox church leaders and provides pilgrims and others an opportunity to experience the Holy Land on foot while connecting in a spiritual and physical way to the Biblical landscapes that feature in Jesus' life.

The Gospel Trail comes on the heels of another popular northern Israel hike also catering to Christian tourists, the Jesus Trail. The Jesus Trail follows a similar route as the new Gospel Trail and to a large extent serves the same function.  However, the Jesus Trail encourages a bit more diversity as it passes through some outlying Arab villages in the Galilee while the Gospel Trail, focuses more on exploring the indigenous nature of the region.

By highlighting their connection to important holy sites, both bring a much-needed awareness to the Galilee, a region that is still often overlooked by visitors to Israel, though, perhaps, not for much longer.

"Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and he healed them. Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him." 

Matthew 4:23-25

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Elisa L. Moed is the Founder and CEO of Travelujah -Holy Land Tours (http://www.travelujah.com). A 24 year tourism consulting veteran, Elisa has worked for many international chains, banks, developers and hotel management companies in her role as a specized hospitality ndustry consutlant..

Travelujah is the leading Christian social network focused on travel to the Holy |Land.

He said to them, 'Let us go somewhere else to the towns nearby, so that I may preach there also; for that is what I came for.'" Mark 1:38

With a heart full of emotion, Valeries Ramirez, 24, looked out over the Sea of Galilee and the Genasseret Valley on the path Jesus likely took from his hometown in Nazareth to meet the residents living in the seaside villages along the Sea of Galilee.

"To walk where your savior walked - it's a very beautiful experience and something that will change your life," Ramirez said about her visit along a portion of the Gospel Trail, the newly completed 65-kilometer path inaugurated last week by Israel's Ministry of Tourism.

The Gospel Trail is part of the Tourism Ministry's effort to attract more Christians to Israel in general, but more specifically to the Galilee, which does not attract the high number of tourists that Jerusalem does, despite the fact that Jesus spent most of his life in this region and walked the very countryside that Ramirez was walking.

Ramirez was visiting Israel as part of a 70-person tour organized by Pastor Alberto Mottesi, a radio and TV personality and Evangelical minister from Santa Ana, California, who led a  group of 70 believers from Latin America and the United States on a 10 day journey to Israel on what he estimates is his 15th visit to the Holy Land.

Alberto Mottesi and Travelujah Founder Elisa Moed, Photo Credit Travelujah

Mottesi's radio program ‘Un Momento Con Alberto Mottesi' (A Moment with Alberto Mottesi) is transmitted approximately 2000 times daily throughout Latin America, USA, and Spain. His new television program Café Libre can be seen on 5580 channels in 57 countries.

"The first time I came to Israel I wanted to experience the Bible exactly as it is," said Pastor Mottesi.

And to do that one must feel the land. Even Jesus and his disciples couldn't rely on cars to take them around the Galilee 2,000 years ago, which is why Mottesi felt it was important to include the new Gospel Trail as part of his group's itinerary.

"When we walk here, Israel opens up in front of our eyes," explained Mottesi.

The Gospel Trail provides an unparalleled opportunity to replicate Jesus' probable footsteps from Nazareth to the villages in which he ministered along the Sea of Galilee.

The 65-kilometer trail begins at the Mount of Precipice in Nazareth where, according to Luke 4:14-28, Jesus was rejected by his townsmen who threatened to throw him over the mountainside. It crosses part of the Galilean landscape providing views of many important holy sites and places where Jesus performed miracles and taught. The trail dips into part of the Jezreel Valley and continues along the Nazareth Range providing views of Mount Tabor where Jesus was transfigured and the village of Cana where he performed his first miracle, turning water into wine.

It passes nearby to the Horns of Hattins, the site of the clash between the Crusader forces and the Muslim armies under Saladin, and past the antiquities of Magdala to Tabgha, and below the Mount of Beatitudes, eventually ending at Capernaum and the Sea of Galilee.

Those who prefer to add a bit more adventure to their Gospel Trail experience can do so by taking on the trail by bicycle or even horseback. Bikes can be rented in Nazareth and Tiberias. Horseback riding can be arranged through Vered HaGalil, about 5 minutes from the Mt. of Beatitudes. Gospel Trail maps can be viewed online and are available through Ministry of Tourism offices.

Israel Minister of Tourism Staz Misechnikov trotting the Gospel Trail   Photo courtesy: Elisa Moed, Travelujah

Father Juan Solana, director of the Legionaries of Christ, said the Gospel Trail is "a great initiative."

"You can't follow the footsteps by car - only by walking or biking or horseback riding," he explained.

The Gospel Trail will pass by Father Solana's new Magdala project, Notre Dame du Lac, which is under construction just north of Ginnosar on the Sea of Galilee.

Sunset on the Sea of Galilee; Photo Courtesy: Elisa Moed, Travelujah

The Ministry of Tourism spent 3 million shekels ($750,000) upgrading the trail, much of which is also part of Israel's National Trail. Separate signs, rest areas and other enhancements were added to the Gospel Trail in order to cater to the Christian tourists anticipated to hike the trail.

Archaeological excavations at Tel Kinrot, on the Gospel Trail; Photo Courtesy: Elisa Moed, Travelujah

The trail was planned more than 10 years ago but was shelved due to the second intifada. It was revived a couple of years ago when, coincidentally, another hiking trail - the Jesus Trail - created by two young entrepreneurs, began generating much buzz and interest in the area. The Jesus Trail follows a similar route as the Gospel Trail and serves the same function and market, though the Jesus Trail encourages a bit more diversity and interaction with the local population as its path passes through some outlying Arab villages in the Galilee and passes many more churches.

The Ministry of Tourism route, which was planned and completed with the help of KKL, Israel's forestry organization, focuses more on exploring the indigenous nature of the region and includes many forests. Be forewarned though: The trail itself offers no infrastructure such as bathrooms, hotels or restaurants so travelers must bring supplies with them and carefully plan their journeys themselves or hire a specialist to coordinate the logistics of the trek.

While no one really knows the exact paths Jesus took, according to Yisca Harani, a Christianity expert, consultant to the Ministry of Tourism and instructor at the Avshalom Institute, it is quite likely that he traveled on or near either of these paths. 

Jesus spent most of his life and performed many of his miracles in this very region yet  the Galilee attracts far fewer tourists than Jerusalem.  Although if it was up to Pastor Mottesi, all Christian tourists would some spend time in the Galilee.

"People must come here to walk the same trail Jesus (walked)," he explained. "That's all I have to say to convince them (to come to Israel)."

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Elisa L. Moed is the Founder and CEO of Travelujah, the leading Christian travel network focused on connecting Christians to Israel. People can learn, plan and share their Holy Land tour and travel experiences on Travelujah.