ביקורות אחרונות
112This might be my new favorite beach in Israel. Lots of little coves where you can feel like you have the place to yourself even if it's a popular day. There is one main beach but we set up on the slightly smaller and less sandy beach to the left, with fewer people.
Bring goggles, there is a lot to see under water - fish, rock formations, sea shells, crabs, etc. Also wear some sort of water shoes because the karkur rock can be sharp.
The short walk along the ancient ruins of two temples and some kind of ancient shipyard is really magical, with nice views from the top viewpoint as well.
There are a few other popular beaches in the area (Nachsholim and Hof Habonim) but I think this one is special because of the rocky tidepools private coves, and ruins.
There are shaded picnic tables and small shop that sells ice cream and some basic food at the entrance. Free entry.
Nice but too hot and no shade (in May).
The Red Canyon is one of our favorite hikes of all time. Stunning red colored rocks open up into a narrow swirling canyon full of dramatic surprises and incredible views. This area is my favorite of all the desert sceneries in Israel (and there's some stiff competition with the Dead Sea and Mitzpe Ramon!).
I don't know why this site is not on more people's itineraries! It's more impressive than Caesarea in terms of the actual Roman ruins, though of course Caesarea's location on the Mediterranean coast gives it a more spectacular backdrop. Beit She'an is in my opinion the most impressive Roman city in Israel, and is one of the most intact ancient ruins in the world.
The valley it's located in can be very hot, so best to avoid coming in the middle of summer, or at least plan to visit early in the day right when it opens.
Some of the highlights we saw were the ancient toilet room in the bathhouse, where there are long rows of intact stones sticking out of the walls where the ancient Romans would relieve themselves in a communal setting... something I hadn't seen before. Also there are beautiful pink marble columns and a gorgeous theater.
There's also an ancient Tel (hill) that you can climb for a stunning view over the ruined city, and which has its own even more ancient ruins that are much older than the Roman city itself - there are even Egyptian hieroglyphics from the late bronze age from the time Egypt ruled over Canaan. Incredible to think about the layers of time in this spot.
Fun and green hiking area with some dramatic views in the Carmel Mountain Range. We parked at Haifa University and combined our short hike with a visit to the (free) Hecht Museum at the university, which made for a great day together. We walked the short Nahal Kelach (Kelach Stream) route (in "Little Switzerland"), which passed by the beautiful wave-like rock formation and was a great place to stop for a picnic and coffee. Good for kids, not too strenuous, though it was a slightly uneven hiking trail.
It's so fun there and there are lots of caves. It's so dark and spooky and fun. And in the first one that I went in it was so fun because I needed to crawl underground and crawling underground is fun!
היה ממש כיף אבל קצת מפחיד כי היו שם קורי עקביש ,אבל כדי לכם לבוא גם אם זה מפחיד אותכם כי ממש כיף שמ אז תבואו היה כיף.
It was very fun and scary but in the end I loved it! And that's why I give it 5 stars.
This was a huge surprise for our family! None of us had ever been before, and we couldn't believe how impressive it was and how undiscovered it felt. We went in June and it was perfect for the hot weather because much of the time we actually spent underground.
We had a bit of trouble finding the entrance (in Google Maps it's best to put the specific site within the nature reserve that you're going to, rather than "Adullam Grove Nature Reserve" itself, because it's a large area). We ended up going to Horvat Midras, but there are many other sites within the park that look equally interesting. The official entrance we arrived at was for the Adullam-France Park, and we discovered that the two sites are pretty closely integrated with each other so you might want to do trails in both nature areas in the same day.
We spent about 2 hours in total along the short blue/green loop trail, stopping to explore the caves, tunnels, and ruins along the path. It was shocking how much was packed into this one small trail - the first stop was a long narrow hidden tunnel that was challenging for the adults to crawl through, though the kids (6 and 8) didn't have a problem. The narrowest of the openings are only 40cm, and at some points it wasn't 100% clear which way to continue. The kids immediately wanted to do the whole thing over again when we reached the end, but once was plenty for the adults. :)
We saw some incredible burial caves, including one with a giant stone wheel doorway that looked like something out of an Indiana Jones movie. We also saw a unique-to-Israel ancient pyramid, an ancient synagogue, and an impressive columbarium similar to the ones at nearby Beit Guvrin. Highly recommended!
Nice picnic areas, awesome trails with ruins and cave systems. We were hiking in nearby Horvat Midras (in Adullam Grove Nature Reserve) and just stopped by the picnic area of Adullam-France park this time, but plan to come back to visit Khirbet Burgin and explore some of the other trails, caves, and ruins in the area next time. Beautiful area.
We always stop here on our way south to the Mitzpe Ramon area or Eliat. It's serene, with lush green grass which attracts lots of Ibexes. A very easy walk from the parking lot and picnic area to the tomb and viewpoint. Stunning view overlooking Nahal Zin, the dramatic winding dry riverbed surrounded by cliffs. There are also good bathrooms and a small gift shop.
We had such a lovely hike here! Started at the Bar BaHar restaurant, which has a ton of information about trails and sites in the area (and also great pizzas and salads, which we had when we got back from our hike - kitchen closed at 17:30 so don't get there too late).
We did a lovely loop trail down into Nahal Ktalev and back out again (we indeed saw some of the bright orange Ktalev trees it's named after), with fantastic views of the Jerusalem hills, Nahal Soreq, and the old Bar Giora train station. The trail passed through some Mamluk and Crusader era ruins, as well as a scenic underpass. The bottom of the trail was very shady and pleasant. Took us about 4 hours overall. We're planning to come back again with kids to walk a shorter trail to Beit Itab ruins.
This place has the potential to be amazing - hot springs, ancient ruins, beautiful location overlooking the Jordanian border. They have several restaurants as well as a small animal area with a crocodile farm and a parrot show (a bit random). But the facilities feel a bit dated, and it could do with a face lift overall. It's still a nice place to visit, just wish they would keep it a bit more maintained.
Still under active excavation. Interesting mosaics there. Combined it in a day trip with Kiryat Ata forest, made a nice day out with friends (and small kids). It would be good to come back in a few years to see what progress they've made with the excavations and facilities, which are supposed to be improved.
We spent a lovely weekend camping at the Borot Lotz campground. Very nice free campground with protected areas for tents, clean bathrooms, and campfire pits (bring your own wood). The one drawback is that it's quite popular as well - some people had to camp away from the protected area and I imagine it was a bit windy for them at night.
The nighttime visibility is fantastic here, we were able to clearly see the Milky Way. We saw some other campers with a serious telescope.
We did the red loop trail and saw a series of ancient cisterns, some of which had quite a bit of water in them and beautiful shady trees. The nature reserve is really huge, and there are many other areas that we didn't see. Worth the drive, I'm sure we'll be back to explore other parts of the reserve.
Impressive gardens! We love to come with our kids and walk the paths between the many interesting and distinct parts of the garden, including interesting architectural elements as well as a rose garden, a fragrance garden, and more, and of course the crypt at the center. Good bathrooms and facilities available, including a visitor's center, multiple food options, and picnic tables. Our kids also liked climbing onto the roof of the visitor's center which give a bit of an elevated view.
We haven't yet done any of the walking trails in the large nature area adjacent to the cultivated garden, but look forward to exploring there next time. Highly recommended!