A trip to Jerusalem is among the top recommended travel tips from National Geographic this spring. The holy city is just one of 14 exotic sites that a team of travel experts put together for the popular magazine.
A pilgrimage to the Holy Land during Holy Week was described by the magazine as a "once in a lifetime experience." They recommended joining the procession at Mount of Olives on Palm Sunday, as well as witnessing the miracle of Holy Fire on Holy Saturday near the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
But the pilgrimage to Jerusalem at this time of the year usually attracts thousands of devotees. So, for those who want to experience the Holy Land away from the maddening crowd, the travelers also suggest taking a gondola ride near the Masada fortress or a serene early morning boat ride on the Sea of Galilee.
The country's Tourism ministry confirmed that over 3.5 million Christian pilgrims traveled to Jerusalem in 2017, thus raising its annual visitors numbers to as much as 20 percent compared to 2016. While travelers came to the Holy Land all year round last year, the peak times were during Easter or Christmas.
But it's not just Christians who visited the country in recent months. In January, observers also noted the increase in Muslim tourist groups from Indonesia, Malaysia and Turkey.
For additional details on this trip, National Geographic also has an Israel travel guide and a Jerusalem holiday recommendations on their website. Aside from the Holy Land, National Geographic's Best Spring Trips for 2018 also include destinations like the Columbia and Snake Rivers in Portland, Namibia, Japan, Fogo Island Inn in Canada, the Upper Amazon in Peru, The Seychelles in East Africa, the eastern coast of Sri Lanka, Colombia, Panama, Morocco, Madagascar, the Netherlands and Svalbard in Norway.
