31 of the 33 Chilean miners hailed as heroes after spending 69 days trapped underground, arrived in Israel on Wednesday for a 8-day pilgrimage.
The 24 miners, many of them accompanied by family members, landed in Tel Aviv for an eight-day visit as guests of the Israel tourism ministry.
The tour will focus heavily on Christian sites, with the miners due to visit the Via Dolorosa, the Church of Holy Sepulchre, Capernaum and the Garden of Gethsemane in Jerusalem on Thursday, but also King David's Tomb, the ministry said.
They will also visit Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity in the West Bank, before heading north to Nazareth and the Sea of Galilee where some of them will be baptised, it said.
The Tourism Ministry sent a letter to the miners days after they were rescued, inviting them to visit as guests of the state.
“Your bravery and strength of spirit, and your great faith that helped you survive so long in the bowels of the earth, was an inspiration to us all,” Tourism Minister Stas Miseznikov wrote to them.
More than a billion people watched the miners’ rescue and joyous reunion with family members, making it one of the most watched television events ever.
The miners, who survived, a gruelling 69-day ordeal trapped in a caved-in gold and copper mine, will meet Israeli President Shimon Peres and spend some time at the Dead Sea.
During the visit, they will also be taken to the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum in Jerusalem.
Since their dramatic rescue, which turned them into international celebrities, the miners have visited Hollywood and Beverly Hills, marched with Mickey Mouse at Disney World and travelled to England to watch a Premier League game between Manchester United and Arsenal.
But their story also has a darker side.
Nearly all of the miners have suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder since their rescue. Some have recounted how they contemplated suicide while trapped underground, while others said they were days away from cannibalism before rescuers made contact with them.
The Jerusalem Post noted that the miners’ trip comes six weeks after the government of Chili announced its recognition of a Palestinian state, following in the footsteps of other South American countries. The Tourism Ministry said that the pilgrimage, which is expected to be heavily covered by foreign media, will give Israel a chance to present a different face to Latin America.
"The pilgrimage of the Chilean miners to the Holy Land will expose Christians and others around the world – not just Spanish- speakers – to Israel’s unique religious, historical and cultural sites," said Pini Shani the director of the overseas department at the Tourism Ministry.