Off-the-beaten-track sites in Israel

The people of Israel are passionate about digging up the most unusual, off-the-beaten-track adventures. And that enthusiasm is infectious: Given the country's small size, visitors to Israel increasingly want to go beyond the Israel Museum, Masada and the Tel Aviv boardwalk.

Fortunately, Israel is chock-full of unusual museums, surprising hikes, hidden restaurants and even prehistoric caves just waiting to tempt the intrepid traveler

We start at the Ayalon Institute. Tucked away on a lonely hill in the outskirts of Rehovot, the Ayalon is often referred to as the "underground ammunition factory" because its main attraction is 13 feet underneath a "fake" kibbutz laundry facility and bakery.

Just prior to the War of Independence, leaders of the nascent Jewish state realized they needed bullets to defend themselves, and the British weren't letting any ammo in. A group of pioneers from the Jewish Scouts movement, as well as the Haganah (and later the Palmach) military forces, dug a large 300-yard underground chamber with nearly two-foot-thick walls and ceilings. In it, they built a factory that churned out 40,000 bullets a day between 1945 and 1948.

To hide what they were doing from the British, the factory was built under a "training institute" intended to prepare immigrants for kibbutz life. The main entrance to the factory was under the central drum of the laundry's washer. An alternative opening was under one of the 10-ton baking ovens, which could be moved along a set of metal runners.

A tour of the Ayalon Institute includes a guided explanation above ground and an exploration of the dimly lit factory itself. There are all kinds of fascinating tidbits: how the laundry was kept running 24 hours a day to conceal the sound of the machinery, and how primitive sunlamps gave workers stuck underground a makeshift tan.

Smack dab in the center of Rehovot's Weizmann Institute of Science, one of Israel's most prestigious research centers just south of the Ayalon Institute, you'll find the Clore Garden of Science. Set over 800 square meters (960 square yards) of green lawns, 58 hands-on exhibits demonstrate the laws of physics, solar energy and water power.

The exhibits include a 49-foot-high wave machine; a solar-powered fountain (you can change the direction of the solar panels and see the change immediately); a solar furnace that can instantly set wood on fire; water sprinklers that surround you with a rainbow; and various sound exhibits where visitors walk on drum pads and operate pendulums and turbines. Probably the most exciting attraction is the TrampoLuna, which simulates a moonwalk. You're attached to a long suspension cable and, as you bounce through the air, you feel only 1/6 of your normal weight - just like on the moon.

The exhibits are aimed at the kids but are just as enjoyable for their parents. Due to the summer heat, the Clore Garden is closed midday during July and August, re-opening later in the evening.

From museums to caves

Israel is well known, of course, for its antiquities, dating back several thousand years. But the country can also trace its roots back almost 500,000 years to the days of the cavemen. Truly one of the most off-the-beaten-track adventures in the Holy Land, the Caves on Mount Carmel - 15 minutes south of Haifa and 45 minutes north of Tel Aviv - contained evidence that both Homo sapiens and Neanderthals lived here at one time.

You won't find real remains lying around anymore - archaeologists long ago snapped these up during digs starting in the 1930s - but the caves are impressive nonetheless. The layers of sea sand in the Tabun cave, for example, indicate that the coast was much closer during the Paleolithic age. A skeleton of a Neanderthal female, dating back some 120,000 years, was found in this cave. Next door, in the Skhul cave, 14 more human-looking skeletons were found. The third El-Wad cave shows signs of a 10,000-year-old permanent settlement. Primitive tools including hand axes, fishhooks, scrapers for treating animal skins, sickle blades and more, were found in all of the caves.

You can pick up a travel guide at the ticket window. A circular trail through the valley and up the ridge takes about two hours. To get into the caves requires climbing up a fairly steep ladder. There's also a nice wooded area, and you can buy pita and other picnic supplies from the nearby Druze villages.

From the days of the cavemen to the ingenuity preceding the establishment of the State, Israel has a wide range of attractions. There's never a dull moment in the Land of the Patriarchs so get out there and explore!

1. Ayalon Institute:

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Society_&_Culture/ayalon.html

2. Clore Garden of Science:

http://www.weizmann.ac.il/pages/clore-garden-science

3. Caves on Mount Carmel

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Archaeology/carmel.html