A celebration of views in hidden roads from the shore of the Mediterranean to the mountain tops. Travel map

Made by Amnon Goffer, an expert Galilean tour guide (054-6549191)

The Galilean roads are all pretty, but some are beautiful. And the most beautiful ones are the hidden ones. The ones mostly used by the local people. So here you have a road trip, in case you wish to rest from the 20km you hiked the other day, or in case it’s a bit rainy, or you just want to watch allot of views through the windshield. By the way, many people laughs at as, Galilean people, that every third sentence of us starts with "when there's a good sight…". Excellent Nira Russo once wrote there're maybe two or three days a year with good sight, and she is absolutely right. The thing is, those days are just now – sunny winter days after the rains, when the air is clear and skies are blue. That is the thin different that makes it all so special. So there you have some extra-special roads, with several eating-and-viewing spots.

Getting to starting point:

For comings from Eilons travelers hotel, take a right when exiting the Kibbutz and go straight to Kabri junction.

For coming from Gesher HaZiv travelers hotel, take a left when exiting the Kibbutz (towards Nahariya). At Nahariya's main junction take left again towards Kabri and drive straight to Kabri junction.

From Kabri junction: go south at road 70 (a right for those who comes from Gesher HaZiv and straight for those from Eilon) about 9km to a traffic-lighted junction with a left towards Joullis.

In the ravine
Trail starts at Yarka village. From Joullis junction we'll climb east towards the village (road 8533). At the village's entrance we will notice a Peugeot car stands proudly in the middle of a traffic circle. This car was entirely hewn in stone, in German precision made by the Druze artist Khar'ubi Fadul of Peqi'in. The car's body is one piece of Atzmon rock – the hardest Limestone in the Galilee, and the wheels, flashlights and the big ball the car stands on where made from other kinds of stones. It is recommended to park and have a look.
Yarka village is developing massively the last years. It western slopes becomes neighborhoods of mansions and villas and side to the road climbing to it private malls were opened, selling brands in fair prices. And so Yarka became a magnet for those who wants to buy clothing and footwear almost half price on Saturdays (for crowd lovers – that’s the place). After finishing measure, finger and compare prices we'll climb to the village center. Those who are interested can park their cars nearby the new fancy council building, built upon what was once the village water pool and the heart of Yarka village, and visit the tomb of "Khushi HaArci" – a loyal friend to King David and called "saint Joseph" by the locals.

From there we'll go to Majnuna Wadi (or Beit HaEmek Wadi). Approaching the wadi is easy to find – you take a left circling the council building and go straight towards the end of the road leading to the wadi (you can ask the locals about the way to Jatt through Majnuna wadi).
Going into the wadi in the narrow asphalt road must be driven carefully. Driving this road is like a meditative journey into magical views. The scenery is amazing, but must not forget to look on the road as well. After crossing the wadi (the road is actually CROSSING the wadi) we'll climb through the orchards and olive trees until getting to the nearby civilization (this time it called Jatt village). The village is hidden between olive groves, far from any main road and bustle, and if there weren't a road from it to the Druze village Yanu'ah and Mitzpe Gitta, no one would have known it exists.
The road crossing the village (8721) allows climbing from the coastal plains to the Western Galilee ranges towards Yanu'ah and Kefar Veradim. The road is wide and comfortable and it is recommended to stop every once in a while and take a look west to watch the sea and Haifa Bay almost in the touch of your hand. Yanu'ah village is well signed and it's easy to find your way out, about 1km, into the houses of Kefar Veradim. Stopping at Yanu'ahs' center won't take more than five minutes of wandering around the well preserved alleys and glimpsing the two oil presses in it.
Kefar Veradim is a good refreshment stop – you can find comfortable toilets and a caf'e at the commercial center. From Kefar Veradim we continue eastwards. You can visit the Tarshi'ha market (open on Saturdays) or wander around between the galleries and the artist homes, but this time our goal is to reach almost to the pick of the Upper Galilee, therefore we better be on our way.

Between olives to Sami'ya
From Kefar Veradim we'll take the Teffen-Ma'a lot road (854), turn left towards Ma'a lot and after few hundred meters we take a sharp right turn to the road passing through the forest nearby. This road has no name, and is a bit controversial, but for now (and probably forever) it is a popular shortcut to Kisra and Sami'ya villages. We drive a few kilometers between the natural vegetation and the beautiful olive groves, enjoying the evergreen scenery - and again – be careful and patient. For in one hand we might find ourselves stuck behind a tractor and on the other hand a careless teenager might pop in front of us driving at the speed of light. The road takes us to the outskirts of Sami'ya village we drive down the alleys (take a peek into the well maintained yards) to the main road. You can turn right to Kisra's beautiful rock park (interesting rocks, views and a good Lebanese restaurant nearby). You can also turn left and drive down to New Peqi'in, from there to the outskirts of Peqi'in and from there to Hossen junction and to road 89 (Nahariya-Zefat).

Why fight?
On road 89 we drive to Horfesh. The village houses are beautiful and this place is worth the time investment in order to visit all it sights but you can satisfy in visiting the memorial room for Colonel Nebi Mar'ee, who was killed in the Western Wall tunnel opening riots at the southern front, and touch a bit the blood bond between the Israeli people in their Druze comrades. If you have some time, it is recommended to stop by at Nebi Sablan, one of the most secret places for the Druze community, a beautiful place with crazy views 360 degrees, and can also visit Nimer Nimer for a meal, good talk and funny stories. Back to the hidden roads, we have now two options. One – crossing the village to its eastern exit and just after the patrol station turn right to a provisional looked road, called "dispute route ", memory of an old conflict between the locals and the authorities.
The road climbs to the beautiful village of Beit Jann (1050 meters above sea level) and is passing near streams, nice spring, gravel roads overlooking beautiful landscapes, cattle, goats, donkeys and olive groves. At the very beginning of the road, with nature all around, there is a monument for Sergeant Fadi Kezamel, from Beit Jann, who was killed in the Helicopter Disaster, 20 years old. It is worth the stop also to honor him and to enjoy the beauty of the sight.
The road ends at the high village Beit Jann which known as "Israeli Switzerland". We recommend to visit "Aya Natural" factory for perfumery and natural cosmetics, and to enjoy an outstanding Druze meal at "Armon Melech HaEru'ach" with Menal As'ad, an excellent chef and a perfect hostess, and her husband Nejach, a master painter who also a tour guide for the village's alleys (04-9805260,0509285167). By the way, it possible and recommended to drive this road from Beit Jann to Horfesh but it will take allot of questions to find the beginning of it.

Matat El

Other option is to drive from Horfesh to Matat. At the village center, after passing the statue of Pacher-El-Adin riding a horse with a knife in his hand, we'll reach a left turn at a junction once was the home for a restaurant called "HaMirpeset" (The Balcony). The restaurant is no longer there but the balcony is and also a postal office at ground floor. This road connects the village of Horfesh to the Northern Road (899).
There is nothing like this road to make you forget the great metropolis, therefore it is recommended to approach it slowly and let the eye and the soul get their right amount of authentic Galilean view. The end of the road is nearby the outskirts of Mitzpe Matat but I recommend to choose between two options were to finish – the Summit Trail at mount Adir or a short visit at Pa'ar cave.
They're both easy to reach, the Summit Trail at mount Adir is a circular trail of maximum half an hour (including panting brake in front of the Lebanese views) and to Pa'ar cave it is a two minutes drive and you'll get to see a nice sinkhole covered by hornbeam and oak trees which gives the place a magical and romantic touch. Adventurers can turn on a flash light or light a candle and walk trough the shallow waters inside the sinkhole