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Three places you should go to when in the Holy Land

Planning a pilgrimage is a special time for those looking to take a trip of this kind. You’ll want to make sure everything you want to do is included on your itinerary, because you don’t want to miss something from your list of places to visit. You might also be thinking about who to go with and how you get there – do you plan it yourself or go on a tour? Should you go with your family, your friends, or go on a solo adventure?

No matter what you decide, these are some of the places you may have thought about including on your pilgrimage. Make sure you know where you truly want to go, and what sites you can see in the Holy Land.

Jerusalem, Israel

There’s every chance that you want to include some time in Jerusalem on your trip. There are many sites of significance within the city, such as the Old Town, which is where you’ll find places such as the Western Wall – the oldest remaining wall from the second temple period.

There’s also the Mount of Olives, which offers visitors the chance to go to important places from the passion of Christ. These include the garden of Gethsemane and the place of Jesus’s weeping. You may wish to return to the Old Town through the Kidron Valley, where it’s believed Jesus walked through to his arrest.

You may also wish to use Jerusalem as a base when visiting other places in Israel, such as Nazareth, Bethlehem, Jericho and Tel Aviv. To make sure you don’t miss out, you could consider tour packages to the Holy Land from South Africa – you can then plan which sites you want to see as well as getting the benefits of knowledgeable guides who can tell you all about these places.

River Jordan

If you’re in Israel, then you might want to see the river Jordan. It divides the countries of Israel and Jordan, and is also where Jesus was baptised by John the Baptist. Pilgrims can visit Yardenit where the river flows out of the Sea of Galilee. You can also be baptised in these waters.

Sea of Galilee

Located just 100 miles north of Jerusalem is the Sea of Galilee, where many notable events in Jesus’s life took place. There are many different sites to discover which you will want to include on your itinerary if you can.

For instance, the Mount of the Beatitudes, where it is believed Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount. The octagonal Church of the Beatitudes – to symbolize the eight beatitudes – was built in 1938 and has on display the cloak of Pope Paul VI from his 1964 pilgrimage.

You can also go to Mount Tabor, believed to be the site of the transfiguration: this is where Jesus took the disciples Peter, James and John to see an apparition of Moses and Elijah. There is also Bethsaida, which is the birthplace of the apostles: Peter, Andrew and Philip. This is also where Jesus was known to have performed several miracles.