ROSH HANIQRA

However inured you may have become to panoramic views of Israel, you will be left breathless by the breadth of scenery that lies below the cliffs. On a clear day you can see as far as Haifa. The coastline from Rosh Haniqra is both rocky and sandy. Here and there the rocks finger the surf while the Mediterranean Sea picks at the jagged coast, forming scores of inlets, salty pools and languorous lagoons.

A unique thrill awaits you when you take the cablecar down to sea level. There is a maze of sweet-smelling white limestone caves and passages looking down on the emerald-green and blue pools of sea water. The constant roar of the sea, the hissing surf and the heaving motion of the pellucid pools lend an air of fantasy to the grottos.

The cablecar operates throughout the year and is open daily from 8.30 a.m. - 5 p.m. A fee is charged.
Drive back down the hill, past the banana plantations of Kibbutz Rosh Haniqra and turn left (into Road No. 899). The flatness of the fields changes dramatically as you take the steep road up the mountainous border with Lebanon towards Kibbutz Hanita. Suddenly you are enveloped in a sea of pines that stretch for the next 30 km. These hills were once scabby with rocks, like the denuded Lebanese hills adjoining this route later on. The land reclamation schemes undertaken by Keren Kayemet LeIsrael have transformed this isolated region beyond recognition.

Kibbutz Hanita, founded in 1938, is one of several settlements that arose overnight with stockades and towers to plug the infiltration gaps used by hostile Arabs. The stockades and towers may still be seen. The kibbutz is set on the ridge of the mountain. A special feature is the kibbutz Museum, built on the ruins of a Byzantine church, which houses a fine collection of archaeological finds and flora and fauna connected with the area.

Leaving Hanita on Road 899, pass by the other farming settlements of Ya'ara, Eilon and Goren, noticing the many caves in the few slices of sheer rock bordering the road.

At the Biranit junction turn right onto Road No. 8944 after Kibbutz Sasa, take Road No. 89 which cuts through the ancient Druze village of Hurfeish, the epitome of all that is serene and virtuous about the Galilee villages. Some 2,000 people live here and each of the houses has some decorative stone work, with vines and fruit trees growing in the small plots.

To your left, high above the village, on the heights of Mt. Zebul, 814 m. above sea level, is the tomb of Nebi Sabalan, one of the prophets holy to the Druze community. Each year, in September, the Druze assemble on the mountain to pay homage.

Some 6 km. later there is a turn-off left to Zefat (Road No. 864). Detour towards Zefat for another 5 km. before arriving at the quaint village of Peqi'in.