Tens of thousands of people visited Israel's nature reserves and national parks on Sunday, the first day of Chol HaMoed, with some sites reaching full capacity and closing their gates and heavy traffic felt throughout the country.

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The popular Nature and Parks Authority sites were the Ein Gedi nature reserve, the Caesarea national park, the Ein Feshkha nature reserve, the Eshkol National Park and Gan HaShlosha National Park.

Visitors at the Kinneret (Photo: Kinneret Authority)

The popular KKL-JNF sites were the Biriya Forest and Ein Zeitim, Goren Park in the upper Galilee, the Gilboa Forests, the Ramot Menashe Biosphere Reserve, the Ben Shemen Forest, the Forest of the Martyrs, and the Haruvit Forest.

Hundreds also participated in a hike on the new scenic trail at the Naftali Mountains Forest in the Golan Heights to see the blooming flowers.

Hikers enjoying the bloom at the Naftali Mountains Forest (Photo: KKL)

KKL-JNF foresters are offering free guided tours in the Bar'am Forest in the upper Galilee, the HaBesor Stream's scenic trail and in areas of the western Negev.

Traffic jams all across the country (Photo: Ofer Meir)

Eight of the Kinneret's (Sea of Galilee) beaches were closed to new visitors after reaching full capacity. Around noontime, there were close to 70,000 visitors on the lake's shores.

Visitors at the Kinneret (Photo: Kinneret Authority)

Many visitors sought to escape the high temperatures at northern Israel's different streams in the Golan Heights, the upper Galilee and the western Galilee. The Indie Park site on the Jordan River, near Yesud HaMa'ala, also closed due to overcrowdedness.







In Haifa, an estimated 10,000 people attended the 26th International Children's Theater Festival that offered plays and street performances by 10 international groups. The festival is expected to hold some 200 different events.

Street performance in Haifa (Photo: Haifa Theater)

Special events for teenagers are being held at the Auditorium in the Carmel, which include performances, workshops, dance parties and more. In addition, all of the museums in the city and the Carmel Zoo are free of charge.