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Hiking in Israel: The Forest

Nahal Meron

Nahal Meron in the Galilee: That's Tzfat you see in the hill in the distance. There are lots of nice trails in this area and they can be combined in different ways. We did Nahal Meron as part of a full day loop that also included a good chunk of the always popular Nahal Amud. There's lots of fruit to eat along the way if you do the hike in autumn. The free camp site at Ein Meron is right across the road from the trail head and from there you can also enjoy the hike up Har Meron.



Termosim flowers

Termosim flowers at Har Shocha (Givat HaTermosim): Just south of Beit Shemesh, this a great place for a day trip in springtime. There are short trails going up to ruins on top of the hill and a longer loop trail that takes in the hill and a few small thorny caves. We stumbled on this place at the very time the whole hill was in bloom -- we must have seen at least 50 different kinds of flowers that day but the termosim were some of the most abundant.



Latrun

Cyclamen flowers at the Latrun monastery: This is just another picture thrown in to prove that Israel isn't all desert. This one was taken on the very short trail that circles the Latrun monastery. We made a longer hike out of it by continuing on an adjoining trail to Neve Shalom, a community made up of Jews and Arabs committed to living together in peace.



Lilies

Har Ya'ala spring lilies: Har Ya'ala, in the Beit Shemesh area, is just around the corner from the Soreq Cave (one of the most beautiful caves in the world). At Har Ya'ala there's a picnic area where a short circular hike begins. If the short trail isn't enough for you, the trail joins up with a longer trail that runs all the way from the Soreq Cave to Jerusalem.



Luzit cave

Luzit caves: The trail starts at Moshav Luzit and passes by the Luzit caves crossing some beautiful country that's just full of flowers in spring. The caves here are mostly huge, much like the caves in the Beit Guvrin National Park though not as well cared for. A few old wells along the way make the trip even more interesting.

If you enjoy exploring the caves here, there's are many others you can visit. The entire area around Luzit and Beit Guvrin is covered with ancient man-made caves. Many of the big ones were originally fitted up as living and storage spaces while others were used as hideouts by rebels during the Bar Kochba revolt. The most fun caves to visit are of course the ones you have to crawl around in on your belly. Take a flashlight if you go to those.



Har Eitan in the Jerusalem hills

Har Eitan in the Jerusalem hills: There are lots of nice forest hikes around Jerusalem though Har Eitan isn't really one of them. It's a road walk not a trail walk so we don't recommend it. There are some real trails passing right by Har Eitan. And there are lots of other great places to hike around Jerusalem. A favorite is Nahal Katlav -- especially during the season when the red-trunked katlav trees are loaded with fruit.



Mapal Gilabon

Mapal Gilabon in Nahal Gilabon: This is a typical Golan hike with gorges and waterfalls to swim under. This trail includes the Deborah and Gilabon falls, a bat cave, ancient ruins and in the right season, sabra fruits. You can do this one as a loop though you'll save yourself some roadwalking if you leave a vehicle at each end.

And while you're in the Golan don't miss Nahal Yehudiya. We don't have any pictures of that one since the trail includes lots of water that has to be swum through and our camera doesn't know how to swim. We could recommend lots more Golan trails -- Gamla (there's a park admission fee), Nahal El Al, Nahal Zavitan, Nahal Sa'ar (in spring), and Nahal Hazor -- everyone of them is fantastic.



Nahal Kziv

Nahal Kziv in the Western Galilee: The part of Nahal Kziv where this picture was taken, close to Avdon, has only a jeep trail. Further upstream, there's a real hiking trail with some small pools of cold, clear water you can swim in. On the south side of the valley, near the pools, there's a long narrow cave with water coming out of it. There are several ways to get into Nahal Kziv. There are trails from Park Goren and from Mizpe Hila and also a trail in from the town of Ma'alot as well as the jeep trail from Avdon. Monfort castle



Monfort castle: Nahal Kziv is crossed by a trail running from Goren park to Monfort castle. That's a nice day hike definitely worth doing. The best part is climbing around the castle ruins. Another short trail to Monfort goes from Mizpe Hila. For a longer hike, combine one of these trails with a walk through Nahal Kziv.



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