Golan Heights Overview

This formerly volcanic plateau overlooking the Khula Valley has a sparse population of 35,000 equally divided between recent Jewish settlers and longtime Druze inhabitants, many of whom strongly identify with Syria and have relatives across the border. To Israelis, the region is a major source of water as well as the home of ski slopes, apple orchards, wineries, and cattle pastures. The region’s natural borders include the Jordan River and Sea of Galilee to the west, Mt. Khermon and the Lebanese mountains to the north, and the Syrian plains to the east.

The first recorded mention of the Golan is the Biblical “Golan in Bashan,” a city established by Moses as a refuge for Israelites guilty of manslaughter (Deuteronomy 4:43). The Golan was an important holdout in the Jewish Revolt of 66-73 CE, when its steep hills sheltered the city of Gamla, called the Masada of the north (see Gamla). During the next two centuries, the Golan became a center of the Jewish population, as evidenced by excavations of ancient synagogues. As time passed, however, it degenerated into a backwater Ottoman province, until Turkish officials planted Circassian settlers here to stop Bedouin highwaymen in the 1880s. When the British and French carved up their mandates following WWI, the Golan was given to the French, while Britain maintained control of the rest of Palestine. After WWII the Golan became part of Syria.

Recent history has cast the Golan Heights back into the jaws of political controversy. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Israeli towns in Galilee were assailed by artillery fire from Syrian gunposts atop the mountains. Israel captured the Golan in the 1967 Six-Day War but was pushed back by Syria’s surprise attack in the 1973 war. Israeli forces quickly recovered and launched a counter-attack, capturing even more territory. As part of the 1974 disengagement accord, Israel returned both the newly conquered territory and part of the land captured in 1967. Israel officially annexed the remaining 768 sq. km of territory in 1981, arousing international protest. Today, Jewish settlements are scattered among Israeli army bases, Druze villages, live minefields, and destroyed bunkers. The future status of the Golan is currently under negotiation. Syria claims that the land was seized unfairly and demands its return. Israeli officials had always invoked the issue of security in their refusal to budge from the Golan Heights, until the Rabin and Peres administrations announced their willingness to cede all or part of the Golan in exchange for peace and Syrian recognition of Israel, but Syrian President Hafez al-Assad rejected the offer. The reality is that whoever commands the elevated plateau enjoys strategic views of Damascus and all of northern Israel.

After the war of 2006 between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas, a resolution by the UN General Assembly termed Israel’s 1981 imposition of Israeli law and jurisdiction on the Golan Heights illegal, declared it null and void, and called for Israel to stop creating settlements in and generally asserting control over the region. The United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) now keeps a non-participatory watch from demilitarized zones along the northern borders, where Hezbollah’s flapping flag is visible from Israeli hillsides. Negotiations continue to be reserved to the political arena: prime minister Benyamin Netanyahu recently declared that Israel will never part with the Golan. As a result of the political unrest, travel in the Golan can be dangerous and tourists should consult their consulates before traveling.

Orientation And Practical Information

When wandering the Golan in summer, bring a hat (even a tacky one from a souvenir stall will ultimately prove a welcome relief), sunscreen, and water bottles. The cool pools of water often found on hikes reward weary walkers ready to take a dip, but don’t drink the water. try to avoid the cold, damp, foggy, and often snowy winter. The best time to visit the Golan is spring, when the temperature is mild, the hills are green, and the streams and waterfalls are satiated with icy-cold water from the melting snow on Mt. Khermon. The best way to see the Golan is to rent a car in Tiberias or Kiryat Shmona. Those who don’t plan to hike can hit the major sights in two days. Don’t be afraid to lean on your horn (passing other cars in the Golan is as common as passing breathtaking views), and consider using it as a preemptive warning around blind curves on the narrow mountain roads.

Egged buses reach some sights in the Golan, but it’s uncommon for more than one or two buses to pass the same place in a single day, so plan extremely carefully. Double-check all schedules, take a hard-copy list of bus times, and find out where the stops are ahead of time: many are at highway junctions rather than the destinations themselves, so anticipate some walking. Buses to sights near the Sea of Galilee generally leave from Tiberias. The Upper Galilee, Khula Valley, and the northern Golan are served by buses from Kiryat Shmona and Khatzor ha-Gelilit. It is nearly impossible to get to Gamla and many hiking trails by bus. Relatively few cars traverse the Golan, and hitchhiking is inadvisable. If you decide to set out on your own, take a good map, specifically the huge (and hugely accurate) 1:50,000 trail map available at SPNI offices and in Steimatzky’s (NIS90).

The official Golan Heights tourist information office is located in the Hutzot ha-Golan mall outside of modern Katzrin. It distributes fluent English-language advice, and a long list of phone numbers for lodgings in the Golan, broken down by town and village. It also sells maps of the region and hands out brochures. (☎696 28 85. Su-Th 9am-3pm; F 9am-12:45pm.) For hiker-specific information, contact Katzrin’s SPNI Golan Field School (see Katzrin Accommodations).

Organized tours are faster, more convenient, and sometimes less expensive than other forms of transportation; they also go at a quicker pace than many would like. Egged offers professionally guided two-day tours of the region for US$269 (approx. NIS1,064) leaving from Tel Aviv and Jerusalem every Wednesday (☎1 700 70 75 77; israel-4-u@eggedtours.co.il or www.grayline.com/israel. Accommodations included.) The SPNI offers hiking tours and activities across Israel, including in the Golan. The trips (Yarok Tours) are in Hebrew, but many of the guides and participants speak English. Check the website (www.aspni.com) for a list of upcoming tours and prices. Many include transportation (☎03 368 8625). Jeep Plus in Moshav Ramot, on the east bank of the Sea of Galilee, runs guided jeep trips. (☎673 23 17. 2hr. trip for max. 8 people NIS600, or NIS730 for longer.). Cheerful private tour guide Yaron Sachs (☎054 522 02 86; yaronguide@gmail.com) leads groups small and large on trips through the region (and elsewhere in Israel). He specializes in Biblical-themed excursions, but tailors each tour to the travelers’ desires. Prices vary with choice of transportation, number of people, and length of trip.