Page 36 - Discover Israel Magazine - 2017 edition

A permanent resident of the Golan, with Mt. Hermon Pick yourselves a basket of luscious red cherries on
in the background. Photo: Gilad Peli
The land of water, wine and basalt.
Some 460 square miles of lava
rocks and black earth, in the
north of Israel. Thousands of
years of history, wars, memories, children,
love. Amazing flowers all year round and a
wonderful future. This is the Golan Heights.
The Golan Heights is like one big tourist and
holiday park, drawing some 3 million visitors
every year. The Golan’s large expanse is
studded with breathtaking natural beauty
spots – high waterfalls, deep pools of water,
flowing streams, reservoirs and springs, fresh
meadows, volcanic mounds rising upwards,
and a rich world of flora and fauna – along
with ancient synagogues and military heritage
sites.
Traveling in the Golan is great in any season;
there’s always something to do. The early
days of summer bring the start of the cherry
harvest, and this is followed immediately by
the ripening of berries and summer fruits. The
Golan orchards welcome visitors who come
to pick fruit themselves (Tel: 04-696-2885). In
the autumn, as the High Holidays approach,
you can visit Kol Shofar in Moshav Givat
Yoav, where craftsmen produce the traditional
musical ram’s horn instruments
The Golan
36 D I S C O V E R I S R A E L
the Golan Heights. Photo: Efi Sharir. On right: Yarden
Park. A refreshing haven by the cool waters of the
Jordan River. By Eti Ben Shimon
(Tel: 04-676-33307; Website: www.kolshofar.
co.il). Every year during Sukkot, you can
take part in the Basalt Sculpture Festival, a
major happening that includes artists from the
Golan Heights who create sculptures in the
ubiquitous basalt stone (Tel: 04-696-2885).
During the frosty winter days, it’s fantastic to
warm up in the hot springs of Hamat Gader
and enjoy all the health benefits of its thermo-
mineral waters (Tel: 04-665-9999; Website:
www.hamat-gader.com). Or to ski down
snow-capped Mt. Hermon (Tel: 04-698-1337;
Website: www.skihermon.co.il).
And when spring comes, the Golan is decked
out in a palette of gorgeous colors as flowers
blossom in every nook and cranny. The
rushing streams and cascading waterfalls are
bursting with the winter’s rain, on its way to fill
the Sea of Galilee.
For those who love bicycling, a new central
route has been added to the Golan’s existing
array of beautiful hiking trails. The Golan
Trail winds through the region’s amazing
landscape and wild natural beauty, with some
sections especially suited to bicycling and
routes that are good for the whole family
(Tel: 04-696-2885).
for