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Photo: אילנה שקולניק ilana shkolnik, CC BY 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons
A quaint artists' village where you can see many of the artists working in addition to perusing and buying their works. In the valley south of Aniam is a picturesque river and water pool. Further up the valley (just before the main road, route 808) is the Ayit waterfall, which is impressive in winter but totally dry in summer. All these sites are in walking distance from each other.
Aniam is an Israeli settlement organized as a moshav located in the Golan Heights. The settlement was built in 1978 and falls under the municipal jurisdiction of the Golan Regional Council. In 2024 it had a population of 475.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
A very popular water hike including a number of waterfalls.
Amazing hikes through natural pools. A must do for anyone with a strong sense of adventure and some basic athletic ability. Different hikes with different difficulty levels.
Hebrew:גמלא
A picturesque nature reserve and archaeological site of a Jewish stronghold from 87 BCE. Gamla means a "camel" in Hebrew, the name of the hill top location clearly taking its name from a resemblance to a camel's hump.
Gamla was the capital of the Golan Heights in the 1st century. In 66 CE, along with other Jewish cities in the region, it launched a rebellion against Roman rule. After a siege the city was conquered, and its inhabitants were either killed or threw themselves from the cliff at the edge of the city. Nowadays the city has been partly excavated, and fortifications as well as a synagogue can be seen.
There are several trails at the site, some of which will be challenging for people who are out of shape or hike rarely. The Gamla waterfall trail is accessible until 14:00/15:00 (winter/summer). The Gamla ancient town trail is accessible until 13:00/14:00 (winter/summer). Also, the steep and tall cliffs at Gamla form the perfect habitat for griffin vultures.
Meshushim Stream Nature Reserve
A set of famous pools in the Meshushim river with natural hexagonal volcanic tiling. Within the Yehuda Brechat HaMeshushim Site Nature Reserve.
This picturesque valley and trail leads into the Gamla Nature Reserve and requires the payment of the same fee. However, walking from the highway to the Gamla site, there are no fee collection points and you are supposed to pay at Gamla, which you can circumvent by just walking back before reaching Gamla. This can be a good alternative to Gamla, in case you want to save the steep entrance fee.
Gilgal Refaim
A large megalithic monument dating to around 3000 BCE. It consists of concentric stone circles, and is sometimes called the "Stonehenge of the Levant", without the big upstanding rocks but with a small cave inside. It is hypothesized to be an astronomical and/or ritual site. It looks very impressive from the air, but is difficult to appreciate from ground level.