While visiting Israel, you don’t want to miss its mountainous northern region – the Golan Heights (Ramat Hagolan), which has plenty of lovely nature reserves to offer, alongside historic and archaeological sites. The Golan Heights is an ideal destination for families with children and adventurous travelers alike, thanks to the diverse activities and beautiful landscapes.
The Golan Heights reach some 1,200 meters above sea level in its northern part, which makes it a great observatory on the entire region. The eastern part of this area is dotted with a chain of volcanic hills, while the southern and western parts border on basalt cliffs that descend to the Jordan Valley rift. These areas, too, offer some phenomenal views.
Families with children, tourists and travelers will find plenty of activities to choose from while traveling the Golan Heights. The most popular activity during winter is skiing down the hill of the Hermon Mountain, which has great conditions during the season. Other seasons offer their own attractions in this wonderful part of Israel: summer months offer travelers the chance to swim in the many streams, in spring flowers in every color cover the plains, and the superb autumn weather brings many hikers to the wooded trails. If you plan on hiking or camping though remember that the Golan Heights is the only region in Israel where nights are chilly all year long.
Another fun experience for families with children is the authentic Golan ranch, where you’ll feel like a cowboy surrounded by horses and cattle. When visiting the ranch, you can also go out to the orchards and pick all kinds of seasonal fruits.
The Golan Heights is a great location for growing wine grapes, thanks to weather and geographical character. If you are a wine fan, you will be pleased to know that some of the best wineries in Israel are located there, including “Golan Heights Winery”, which is a worldwide award winning winery that uses high-end technology along with traditional wine making secrets and methods “Chateau Golan”, a very special winery, with extremely good wines ; “Pelter Winery”, which serves the best restaurants in Israel, and produces wines from different blends, ready for drinking and many other small wineries.
There are hundreds of rural guest houses spread all over the Golan Heights, so you won’t have problems finding a place to stay. If you are looking for a unique experience, try the Druze villages in the northern Golan, and enjoy the well known Druze hospitality.
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