The summer is already knocking on our door and it is getting too hot to enjoy a good hiking day in most areas. A great excuse to head to the northern tip of the Golan Heights.
By EREZ SPEISERRam Pool(photo credit: ISRAEL ESHED)
The Golan trail is a 125 km long hiking trail that crosses the Golan height from North to south, passing through many natural gems, historical sites and a variety of communities. Walking the full trail will take most people 5-8 days depending on the fitness and the style of the hiker. However, the trail is divided into 15 individual sections. each section or two can be enjoyed as a separate day hike.The summer is already knocking on our door and it is getting too hot to enjoy a good hiking day in most areas. A great excuse to head to the northern tip of the Golan Heights, at elevations of over 1000 m, where we can still enjoy cooler weather and the vegetation is fresher than in the rest of the country.Hike: Golan Trail sections 2Starting point: Nimrod (GPS 33.244824, 35.751228)Ending point: Near Maasade (GPS 33.220249, 35.759307)Distance: 7 KilometersDifficulty: Easy.The whole trail is marked clearly with white/Green/White markings that are very easy to follow.Section #2 of the Golan trail starts at the tiny village of Nimrod at an altitude of 1150 meters. There are several lodging options in the settlements for those who want to spend the night here. Before we start the Golan trail its worthwhile to make a small half kilometer detour to visit the Hermon Spring. A small pool with breathtaking mountain views. (Ask one of the locals for the way, as the trail is not marked)Once back on the Golan trail, the way is simple to follow along the trail markings. On the first part we walk on the ridge and get great views on the north direction towards the "Hermon Shoulder". The trail then takes a sharp left turn, passes over a saddle and reaches Nebi Ilya, a Druze landmark marking the activity of the prophet Elias. It recommended at this point to make a short climb to the hill summit above to enjoy amazing views on the Hula valley below. The trail now continues downhill on a narrow-paved road with great views of the round Ram pool below us. After crossing the Saar stream (flows only during the winter), we cross the road and reach the shore of Ram pool. The trail follows the east bank of the pool for about a kilometer and then makes a sharp right turn to meet the main road and the end of section #2.
