Trekking in Upper Galilee

Upper Galilee field in spring

My cousin Daniella, her husband Dani and their three children, Sheked, Decal and Doliv invite me on a hike around Upper Galilee.

Druze women picnic in Upper Galilee

Expecting a family hike i come completely ill-prepared with no water and flip-flops. What a mistake! The day turns out to be closer to an army assault course, but provides an excellent opportunity to explore the very beautiful region of northern Israel.

We travel up from Ra’anana along the new Route 6, a road that when completed will run the entire north/south of the country. Dani tells me that building this thoroughfare has taken a long time. Not only are there environmental issues to overcome, but religious issues too. Every grave discovered during its construction has to be assessed to determine its history by religious Jews – in orthodox Jewry a body is not allowed to be disturbed. This has delayed the completed construction by over a decade!

The further north we go so the landscape changes into more hilly and green outcrops until we eventually arrive into Upper Galilee some 35 kms south of the Lebanese border.

We meet several other families and our guide and in true Israeli style, it’s time to picnic before anything else. Daniella is clearly her mother’s daughter and has laid on a fine array of breakfast dishes.

laying out the picnic table

a guide is very much needed to hike the foothills of Upper Galilee

The trail starts what seems appropriately at an ammunition storage unit and involves a short stroll down to an Arab farm. The numerous kids are given an opportunity to milk sheep and goats as well as ride an Arabian horse.

an ammunition stash is useful near the Lebanese border

Sheked and Dani on horse-back

coffee and tea on sale in a field

We then follow a path around to a long dark and somewhat wet drainage tunnel. It’s not a very pleasant experience, especially with my two metres long legs.

Tunnel 356

Then we head on upwards through pretty spring meadows where there is a wait as we wait for the rest of the party to catch up.

Decal shows the way

The trail heads steeply downwards past a hermit’s cave before we have to engage another, fortunately much shorter drainage tunnel, though even wetter than the first.

no idea what these rodents are called - any ideas?

purple thistles

The day ends at a nearby Druze village at one of their unlabelled restaurants for a great feast to recharge the batteries. I have been keen to check out a Druze community since arriving in Israel for their global population is small and are only found in Lebanon, Syria and Israel in any sizeable numbers. Although living in their own Druze villages, this religious group are more assimilated into Israel than other Arabs and are allowed to serve in the Israeli Defense Force.

part of a Druze feast