10 Quirky New Things To Do In Israel For 2015

So you've been to the Western Wall, floated in the Dead Sea, and partied in Tel Aviv. Here's some off the beaten path ideas for your next visit to the State of Israel!

1. Visit the World's Most Beautiful Garbage Dump

Via YouTube

From the 1950s until 2000, Hiriya was one of the largest landfills in Israel, with millions of tons of waste forming a massive garbage dump. Thanks to some incredibly environmentally savvy urban landscapers, Hiriya is now being transformed into Ariel Sharon Park, which upon completion will be 3 times the size of NYC's Central Park!

The park, while still not yet finished, is open for hiking, bike rides, picnics and more!

2. Underground Rock at Radio EPGB

Via Facebook: radioepgb

Finally, an underground club that's actually underground. It might not be easy to find (and we're not even going to share the address with you!) but it's guaranteed to give you an amazing night in Tel Aviv

3. Amazing Graffiti and Street Art in Florentin

Via youtube.com

Thrillist named Florentin as the Second Most Hipster Neighborhood on Earth after Williamsburg The hipster haven of Israel, this southern Tel Aviv neighborhood is one of the hottest and trendiest spots in Israel for artists of all walks of life. And it's home to some of the best street art, coffee shops, and every other great hipster stereotype.

4. The Coretta Scott King Forest

Via Jewish National Fund

Israel is the only country in the Middle East with a memorial and streets named after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In addition to a national forest named after Dr. King, the Jewish National Fund recently named a section of the beatiful Biriya Forest after his late wife, Coretta Scott King.

The Coretta Scott King forest is especially important, as it lies in an area in which two million trees needed to be replanted following the destruction from rocket attacks from Hezbollah in 2006.

5. HaTachana Rail Station

Via youtube.com

This is what happens when you take an old train depot and turn it into a shopping and restaurant center.

And the video above is what happens when Israelis do a flash mob :)

6. Learn Matkot: Israel's Unofficial National Pastime

Via youtube.com

For a game where no one keeps score, it's extremely intense. Even if you don't play Matkot yourself, chances are you'll be hearing the "whack whack" of matkot paddles at any beach in Israel

7. Dine in Complete Darkness at "Blackout"

Via nalagaat.org.il

You taste with your mouth, not with your eyes. That's the idea behind Blackout, a fascinating dining experience at the Nalagaat Center where the staff is visually impaired.

The Center - the first of its kind in the world, seeks to promote interaction between deaf-blind, deaf, and blind individuals and people able to hear and see, regardless of cultural or social distinctions.

8. Visit the Homes of Prehistoric Man at Mt. Carmel Caves

Wikimedia Commons / Via whc.unesco.org

In 2012, the United Nations named the caves of Tabun, Jamal, el-Wad and Skhul a UNESCO World Heritage Site for their importance in demonstrating human evolution.

"Situated on the western slopes of the Mount Carmel range, the site includes the caves of Tabun, Jamal, el-Wad and Skhul. Ninety years of archaeological research have revealed a cultural sequence of unparalleled duration, providing an archive of early human life in south-west Asia. This 54 ha property contains cultural deposits representing at least 500,000 years of human evolution demonstrating the unique existence of both Neanderthals and Early Anatomically Modern Humans"

9. Feeling adventurous? Hike the Israel National Trail

Via youtube.com

Named by National Geographic as one of the "World's Best Hikes" going from the top of the country near the Lebanon border all the way to the Red Sea resort on the southern tip.

Says NatGeo of the 1,000 km long adventure, "Beyond the immense sense of history and breaking news, the trail powerfully connects to something that often gets lost in all the headlines—the sublime beauty of the wilderness of the Middle East. The southern end of the trail crosses the harsh and lovely Negev, still populated by wandering Bedouins and long-horned Nubian ibex and filled with wildflowers in spring. There’s not much water to drink along the way, though the trail crosses plenty of wet spots. It dips into the 600-foot-below-sea-level waves of the Sea of Galilee, flanks the baptismal River Jordan, and runs along Mediterranean beaches north of Tel Aviv. The southern terminus ends in the resort town of Eilat on the Red Sea."

10. Best Seat on Planet Earth for Spectacular Bird Watching

Via youtube.com

With Israel being situated right on the edge where the Mediterranean Sea, Eurasian Continent and Africa meet, it is home to one of the most important spot in the world for bird watching as every year hundreds of millions of birds fly over Israel in an incredible bird migration season.