The Shikma Trail – from Ibim to Or HaNer
Getting there: The Shikma trail is located between Or HaNer and Ibim jJunction – drive on Road 232, which connects Givati Junction to Sha’ar HaNegev Junction. At Ibim Junction, turn towards the entrance gate to the complex. On the right side, in front of the gate, we can see a dirt road maintained by the KKL-JNF that leads towards the Ibim parking lot.
The Shikma Creek Trail, where we are now, is part of a larger project connecting our route with a longer axis to conserve the “Shikma Region” – a space featuring landscape and environmental values: shifting sands, ravines and eolianite ridges, streams, desert landscapes, open countryside and agricultural fields.
Continue with the trail until you reach the entrance to Kibbutz Or HaNer. Then continue on the road winding right and see the impressive channel of Shikma Creek, fruit-bearing fig trees, and a vast pasture on the left side.
If you visit during the blooming season, you are in for a heartwarming spectacle!
Continue on the trail leading towards the eucalyptus grove next to the impressive creek. The 50 km long Shikma Creek is one of the biggest streams on the coastal plain. It begins near Kibbutz Lahav, descends in a moderate track toward the northwest, passes near Kibbutz Dvir and pours into the coastal plain.
With a series of twists and turns, it carves its path near Tlamim, Or HaNer and Erez settlements. At the eastern foot of the large sandy hill of Moshav Netiv HaAsara, the stream turns northwestward, and from here, it descends between steep sandy slopes to the Shikma Reservoir.
Or HaNer was established during the Sukkot holiday in 1957 by a group of new immigrants from South America, who first settled on Giv’ot Zaid, near Tiv’on. Today, most of the kibbutz members are of South American origin and engage in industry, agriculture and food service.
Kibbutz Or HaNer has been recently decorated with some remarkable murals (a unique type of South American art) created by artists who visited the kibbutz on its 50th anniversary. It is recommended to see them independently or by guided tour. Finally, stop at the kibbutz’s Argentinian grill restaurant – Patagonia.