Banias

Major attractions: Nature reserve, Christian station

A visit to Banias, the mother-of-all-waterfalls in Israel, is one of the magic moments most visitors take away from Israel, simply for its awesome degree of nature at play, if for nothing else. But there is plenty more to learn and see while hiking to the falling water.

Depending on one’s pace, there is a 45-minute trail passing both Roman and Crusader sites, followed by another 90-minute walk passing by the Govta Stream until reaching the waterfall, which is generally considered the most impressive in Israel. A point nine kilometers (about 5½ miles) further, where the Hermon Stream meets the Dan waterway, is the head of the Jordan River.

Banias is cited as the location where Jesus sat and asked his disciples for their take on the peoples’ impressions of him and his callings, making this pastoral location that Jesus chose for introspection and brainstorming a “must” for Christian pilgrims following the route of the spiritual leader.

An unexpected but tasty stop on the route is the Matroof flour mill, where Druze pita with labaneh (goat cheese) is for sale and visitors can see the only water-powered flour mill still operative in Israel.

Whether for the Greeks who called the city that once existed there “Panias” (after the god Pan and his nymphs), or the Romans who knew the town as “Caesarea Phillippi” (for Herod’s son), or the Jews who originally called it “Mivzar Dan” (“the Fort of Dan"), or for the early Ottoman’s who finally settled on the name Banias, and last, but definitely not least, for today’s visitors, the Banias waterfall and the hike to it is enjoyed as a truly inspiring experience of the outdoors.

From 1948 until 1967, Banias served the Syrians as a base for attacks on Kibbutz Dan. In June 1967, it was occupied by the Israel Defense Forces.