Exploring Israel's National Parks

By: Rebecca 

Despite its small size, Israel has over 60 national parks and nature reserves. We have had the good fortune to explore many of them. From our first weekend in Israel, to this past week while my dad was visiting, we've been north to the Lebanon border and the Banias, south to Masada, and lots of places in between. We've discovered some great places, some of which are common knowledge and some of which seem to be hidden treasures. 

Just this past weekend we went to the Bet She'arim national park. Just 30 minutes from Haifa, it's an unbelievably cool place. The site of an ancient Jewish city where, instead of a regular cemetery, the dead were buried in catacombs carved into the side of the hill below the town. After the town was abandoned (in the 6th century), the tombs were ransacked, so when excavations began in the 1930s there wasn't a whole lot left. There were however, 135 sarcophagi - some of them large enough to fit 2 or 3 people. It was the final resting place for many famous rabbis and wealthy Jewish families of the time. Aside from the huge burial caves, many of which are open to explore, there are also hiking trails and a beautiful picnic area. We highly recommend it to anyone visiting (or living in) the Haifa region.

Cave of Rabbi Yehuda Hanassi - Bet She'arim N.P.

Thanks to a tip from our friend, and resident archaeologist, Alex, we also visited Belvoir Fortress -  known in Hebrew as Kohav HaYarden (Star of the Jordan). Just south of the Sea of Galilee, Belvoir was the last holdout of the crusaders against the invading Arab army under Saladin. The knights (called Hospitallers) held their fortress even as other Crusader forts fell under Muslim rule (Akko, Tiberias, even Jerusalem). After an 18-month siege, the knights surrendered and were allowed to return to Tyre in Lebanon unharmed. Described by 12th century Muslim historians as: "... but a nest of eagles and the dwelling place of the moon." The fortress stands at the edge of a plateau over 1,800 feet above the Jordan Valley. The castle is well-preserved and you really get the sense of what it must have been like at it's peak. The views are stunning and you can imagine the knights fighting to keep their stronghold.

View of the Jordan Valley from Belvoir N.P.

This time of year, the parks are quiet. We spent hours at Belvoir and saw 2 other people. As spring arrives, many of the parks will be awash with wildflowers and crowds of people enjoying the warm weather. We have more family visiting in the next month so we are looking forward to the excuse to go enjoy all that Israel's parks have to offer.

Ibex near Ein Gedi N.R.

I don't think we will get to all the parks before it's time to return to the U.S., but we are certainly going to take advantage of as many of them as we can! 

More photos of Israel's National parks and reserves here!

You can explore the parks online here.