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RIDING ISRAEL: Roaming the Golan Heights
As a part of my latest updates of some unreported trips in this blog, I am happy to post here another short blog entry for one of the last trips I've done - this time to the Golan Heights.
On January 7th, 2026, Shmil and myself decided to fight the boredom of retirement with a no-reason roam of the Golan Heights to see some green nature and water.
It is worth reminding that January is one of the coldest months of the Israeli winter. However, the 2025-6 winter has been not specially broad in rains. Our first intention was to visit some waterfalls, but it was enough to visit one of them to understand that there is not enough water in the region.
We took the most direct route to the Golan Heights: travelling through Yoqneam, the Golani junction, and the road to Kiryat Shmone, and then to our first stop, Sa'ar Waterfall.
It is worth reminding that January is one of the coldest months of the Israeli winter. However, the 2025-6 winter has been not specially broad in rains. Our first intention was to visit some waterfalls, but it was enough to visit one of them to understand that there is not enough water in the region.
We took the most direct route to the Golan Heights: travelling through Yoqneam, the Golani junction, and the road to Kiryat Shmone, and then to our first stop, Sa'ar Waterfall.
On our way to Kiryat Shmone, we stopped at Kahal for a breakfast, wishing that we would have a good view of the Sea of Galilee.
The air was a little dusty, but it was enjoyable anyway.
As I already told, our arrival to Sa'ar Waterfall showed us a dry waterfall, with a little water flowing in the stream below. Nothing really special. Frustrated, we decided to give up on the following waterfalls, and go to Mount Hermon to see the situation of the snow there.
Mount Hermon is the highest mountain in Israel, with 2,236 meters (7,335 feet) altitude. The Syrian side of the Hermon is higher, but Israelis have no access to there.
As I already told, our arrival to Sa'ar Waterfall showed us a dry waterfall, with a little water flowing in the stream below. Nothing really special. Frustrated, we decided to give up on the following waterfalls, and go to Mount Hermon to see the situation of the snow there.
Mount Hermon is the highest mountain in Israel, with 2,236 meters (7,335 feet) altitude. The Syrian side of the Hermon is higher, but Israelis have no access to there.
The way to Mount Hermon is the beautiful Road 989, very good for motorcycling, in which we see the Nimrod Fortress on our left, pass through Moshav Neve Ativ, one of the Northernmost Jewish villages in Israel. And just before arriving to the Hermon, we pass through Majdal Shams, a druze village which became globally known after Hezbollah sent a rocket to a football field in the village killing 12 druze children who were playing soccer there.
Well, our arrival to the Hermon showed almost no snow. Actually we could see snow only at the peak of the mountain and at the Syrian side. Being the only ski resort of Israel, this was a disaster for the resort operators, no skiing possible there. But they had some of the summer activities open, like the cable car to the top, the alpine coaster, some VR experiences, etc. There weren't too many visitors, but there were some, mostly people from the region.
From Mount Hermon, we continued to Mas'ade, another Druze town, in order to have lunch. Our lunch was at a restaurant we knew from previous trips to the region, called Steakwood, a brasserie in the town. We had a good lunch for an acceptable price.
Well, our arrival to the Hermon showed almost no snow. Actually we could see snow only at the peak of the mountain and at the Syrian side. Being the only ski resort of Israel, this was a disaster for the resort operators, no skiing possible there. But they had some of the summer activities open, like the cable car to the top, the alpine coaster, some VR experiences, etc. There weren't too many visitors, but there were some, mostly people from the region.
From Mount Hermon, we continued to Mas'ade, another Druze town, in order to have lunch. Our lunch was at a restaurant we knew from previous trips to the region, called Steakwood, a brasserie in the town. We had a good lunch for an acceptable price.
We continued, already on our way back, to one of the most beautiful road segments in Israel: the descent from Mevo Hama to Hamat Gader. That is the area marked with a red rectangle on Road 98.
Road 98, which crosses the Golan Heights from North to South, is a great road for motorcycling - beautiful views from Israeli and Syrian Golan, and very nice for riding, with medium-fast speed curves, a true fun ride. Then it arrives to Mevo Hama, and it becomes a stiff hill descent, with slow curves, hairpins (switchbacks for the Americans, serpentines for the Israelis), and gorgeous views to the bottom of the hill. I really recommend seeing the video below until the end, what you see at this part of the road is unmissable.
Road 98, which crosses the Golan Heights from North to South, is a great road for motorcycling - beautiful views from Israeli and Syrian Golan, and very nice for riding, with medium-fast speed curves, a true fun ride. Then it arrives to Mevo Hama, and it becomes a stiff hill descent, with slow curves, hairpins (switchbacks for the Americans, serpentines for the Israelis), and gorgeous views to the bottom of the hill. I really recommend seeing the video below until the end, what you see at this part of the road is unmissable.
From Hamat Gader, we continued to Poria Illit, near the Kinneret Lake (Sea of Galilee), and then back to the Golani Junction at Road 77 and from there back home.
Below is the video of the day. This is a great one-day trip in the case you have only one day to visit the Golan area. In this case, you will miss many of the natural attractions of the Golan, but you will certainly get a tast of how beautiful this region is.
Below is the video of the trip.The video is in 4K, from my Insta360 camera, so I suggest you expand to see it in full screen.
Below is the video of the day. This is a great one-day trip in the case you have only one day to visit the Golan area. In this case, you will miss many of the natural attractions of the Golan, but you will certainly get a tast of how beautiful this region is.
Below is the video of the trip.The video is in 4K, from my Insta360 camera, so I suggest you expand to see it in full screen.
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