Well, there was ONE beautiful road in Israel which was not mentioned in any of the articles in my "Riding Israel" series: Road 10.
The reason for that is simple: this road is not open to the general public most of the year. The army only opens it on some of the Jewish holidays.
Road 10 is 181 Km of length, and it runs from the very South of Gaza strip to the Sayarim Junction in the South, which connects it to Road 12 to Eilat. All the road runs in parallel to the Israeli-Egyptian border.
The road is closed most of the year to the general public because of the activity of very violent smuggler gangs in the Egyptian side of the borders, who sometimes open fire on the Israeli army or people in the border to be able to get in and smuggle drugs and arms into Israel. However, during the Jewish holidays of Passover, Sukkot, and the Jewish New Year, the army takes special security measures and opens part of the road for public visitation. And yet, although it is only a small part of the road, it is the most interesting part, with the best views and a stunning geography.
Geography
The following is my Google Timeline from yesterday, when I joined the BMW Motorcycle Club for a visit to Road 10:
The reason for that is simple: this road is not open to the general public most of the year. The army only opens it on some of the Jewish holidays.
Road 10 is 181 Km of length, and it runs from the very South of Gaza strip to the Sayarim Junction in the South, which connects it to Road 12 to Eilat. All the road runs in parallel to the Israeli-Egyptian border.
The road is closed most of the year to the general public because of the activity of very violent smuggler gangs in the Egyptian side of the borders, who sometimes open fire on the Israeli army or people in the border to be able to get in and smuggle drugs and arms into Israel. However, during the Jewish holidays of Passover, Sukkot, and the Jewish New Year, the army takes special security measures and opens part of the road for public visitation. And yet, although it is only a small part of the road, it is the most interesting part, with the best views and a stunning geography.
Geography
The following is my Google Timeline from yesterday, when I joined the BMW Motorcycle Club for a visit to Road 10:
The part of Road 10 that is open to the public is marked in a red rectangle. The rest is the 200Km in each direction that I did to get there.
If you look at this from a closer perspective, this is how it looks like:
If you look at this from a closer perspective, this is how it looks like:
We arrived at the road at Kadesh Barnea/Nitzana in the North and rode around 90-100 Km until Mount Sagi in the South. The main viewpoints are the Kadesh Barnea Viewpoint and the viewpoint in Mount Sagi.
The road is, in summary, very straight, so if you are looking for difficult curves, that's not where to look at. However, the desert beauty is one of the most beautiful in Israel, comparing only to the views of Road 12 to Eilat. In the beginning at the North, there are some nice twists until the Kadesh Barnea viewpoint. Then the road becomes straight and sometimes when we go up one of the mounts (or should I call them dunes?) presents one twist or two, continuing this way until we get near Mount Harif. From Mount Harif to Mount Sagi, it becomes a genuinely nice road to ride, with twists, uphill and downhill slopes, in summary, what a motorcyclist can hope for.
The road is, in summary, very straight, so if you are looking for difficult curves, that's not where to look at. However, the desert beauty is one of the most beautiful in Israel, comparing only to the views of Road 12 to Eilat. In the beginning at the North, there are some nice twists until the Kadesh Barnea viewpoint. Then the road becomes straight and sometimes when we go up one of the mounts (or should I call them dunes?) presents one twist or two, continuing this way until we get near Mount Harif. From Mount Harif to Mount Sagi, it becomes a genuinely nice road to ride, with twists, uphill and downhill slopes, in summary, what a motorcyclist can hope for.
The road runs along the border Israel-Egypt, and almost all the way we can see the border fence which is marked in the picture above. Another thing that we will see almost every 1-2 Kms are the constructions at the Egyptian side, which are the bases of the Egyptian Border Security battalions. On the Israeli sides, the bases are not so many, and mostly hidden, and what calls for the eye is another road, newer than Road 10, running in parallel to it and really close to the fence. This is a military road for use only by the army.
The desert beauty
Usually, us Israelis can't connect to desert beauty, since it is something we see everywhere. The ones that notice it best are the strangers. However, the beauty of the views in Road 10 are something that call even for the Israeli, and every holiday in which the road is open, thousands visit there by car or by motorcycle.
Please see below a gallery of pictures taken on my trip yesterday to the region. Click on any picture to be able to open on a wide window and scroll among them.
The desert beauty
Usually, us Israelis can't connect to desert beauty, since it is something we see everywhere. The ones that notice it best are the strangers. However, the beauty of the views in Road 10 are something that call even for the Israeli, and every holiday in which the road is open, thousands visit there by car or by motorcycle.
Please see below a gallery of pictures taken on my trip yesterday to the region. Click on any picture to be able to open on a wide window and scroll among them.
In summary, if you like the desert, this is definitely a place to visit. Especially if you also love riding a motorcycle.
Below is a 12-minute video of the day I spent there with the club. I hope you enjoy.
Below is a 12-minute video of the day I spent there with the club. I hope you enjoy.
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