Approximately 100,000 people visited the nation's parks and nature reserves on Election Day Tuesday, basking in the sunlight and unseasonable warmth that covered the entire country.
Numbers were divided evenly, with about 50,000 tourists arriving in national parks and 50,000 in nature reserves, the Israel Nature and Parks Authority (INPA) said. The most popular national park was Hayarkon National Park, where about 8,000 travelers visited.
"Even on Independence Day there weren't so many many people," said Tom Amit, director of the park.
Ashkelon National Park also was host to many visitors, receiving about 4,000 people, according to the INPA. Meanwhile, the Banias, Nahal Iyun, the Stalactites Cave and Beit Guvrin each had about 3,000 tourists.
"The excellent weather enable us to benefit from the vacation day, and indeed, the masses voted with their feet and visited nature reserves and national parks," said Uzi Barzilai, manager of the INPA's public and community division. "The majority of travelers arrived to the national parks in the center of the country, and we were prepared to receive them with enhanced manpower and a variety of activities for the whole family."