The Gospel/Jesus Trail

Has anyone done this? How many days does it take?

TEL KINROT, ISRAEL—Luis Alvarado stood on a hill near Capernaum overlooking the sparkling Sea of Galilee. It was his second day on a pilgrimage tour and he was one of the first tourists to walk on part of the Gospel Trail, a new path that follows the steps of Jesus.

“It’s very different just reading the Bible and being in the place where it really happened,” said Alvarado, 48, who is here on a tour with his pastor. “Here, you can feel the presence of God. I know this is going to increase my faith and my understanding of the Bible.”

The 62-kilometre trail runs from the Mount of the Precipice, where many believe Jesus miraculously escaped an enraged mob, to Capernaum, the centre of Jesus’s ministry and the place where Jesus recruited Peter to be his disciple.

Another stop is the Mount of Beatitudes, reputed to be the site where Jesus delivered his famous Sermon on the Mount, which included the phrase “the meek shall inherit the Earth.”

The trail can be travelled by foot, bike or on horseback. It runs through the green hills of Israel’s northern Galilee region, where Jesus spent much of his life. Parts of the trail are unspoiled and remote — you can walk for hours without seeing any towns.