Description of the attraction
Yarkon Park (officially called Ganei Yehoshua in honor of Yehoshua Rabinovich, one of Tel Aviv's mayors) is the only major park in Tel Aviv, the city's “green lungs”. For city dwellers, Yarkon has been compared to New York's Central Park in importance. Not surprisingly, Yarkon is so popular - about 16 million people visit it annually.
Opened in 1973, the park stretches along the longest coastal river in Israel that rushes to the Mediterranean - the Yarkon. The river is not considered clean - it was heavily polluted in the 1950s, and although efforts have been made to clean it up since then, and in 2011 the mayor of Tel Aviv defiantly jumped into the water and swam, locals advise against fishing here. Despite this, storks, herons, geese, ducks and many other birds, as well as nutria, porcupines, mongooses and even jackals, feel great in the park.
For sightseeing, you can rent a bike and ride the park from end to end. The cycle path goes along the river bank. Cyclists, runners, Nordic walking with sticks, and walking dogs are often found here. Starting from the western side, the path will pass by the rowing center building, built in the form of an inverted boat; past the Memorial to the Victims of Terrorism; past many sports grounds (for fans of basketball, football, baseball, roller skates, tennis, rock climbing). Then, having passed under several bridges, you can turn to a group of gardens - tropical, stones, cacti.
In general, most of the trees in the park are eucalyptus trees, they were once specially distributed in Israel to better drain the swamps. But in the tropical garden you can admire orchids, lianas, palms. The Rock Garden is a large collection of rock specimens typical of the Israeli landscape, with poetic explanations: for example, limestone on the tablet is called a gift from the sea, and granite is a message from the depths. More than 3 thousand species of these plants are represented in the cactus garden.
There is an artificial lake with swans next to the gardens. Many people rent boats, pedal boats, kayaks here or, having unwrapped their grabbed sandwiches, have a picnic on the beach. Not far from a small dam on the Yarkon River are the ruins of 19th century mills built on the site of more ancient ones (it is possible that flour was ground here in the Roman period). The place is called “Seven Mills”. Visitors with children are attracted by the Tsapari mini-zoo, the butterfly greenhouse, and playgrounds. "Tsapari" are inhabited mainly by birds (most of them are parrots), but there are turtles, rabbits, and guinea pigs - they can be stroked.
The walk will end at the eastern end of Yarkon Park. The cycle path goes on, but it's time for tourists tired of new impressions to relax in the Meymadion, the largest water park in Israel with dozens of attractions - water slides and pools for all ages.
