Rosh HaNikra

Main attractions: Grottos, nature reserve, site of former railway station to Beirut, 1949 armistice signing with Lebanon.

No trip to Israel would be complete without a stop at Rosh HaNikra. Situated at the northern-most tip of the country, on the border of Lebanon in the Western Galilee, this spot is alluring on numerous levels: historical, geological, and the majesty of nature in all its glory. The scenic overlook to the Mediterranean Sea, with a view down the coast towards Acre and even Haifa, which can be seen in the far distance, is a vista of magnificent shades of blues and greens.

Rosh HaNikra, or “Sulam Tsor” (“Ladder of Tyre”, as it was called in the Book of Joshua) is actually the modern Hebraized version of the Arabic “Ras-an-Nakura,” signifying the long period of time that the region was populated solely by Arabs. In modern times, besides serving as a bustling artery for war and peace, commerce and military travel, it is the location where the armistice was signed in 1949 between Lebanon and the newly born State of Israel at the conclusion of the War of Independence.

The wonders of the geological formations can be seen from up close on an easy, though sometimes slippery, hike through grottos that were carved by the water pounding on the soft chalk rock over the ages. Once approachable only by sea, there is now a cable-car, run by the kibbutz of the same name, which lowers visitors to the entrance of the caves. A film about the history of the location is also shown in one of the larger caverns. Remnants of a railroad track run through one of the tunnels that were blasted through the rock by the British to serve the Cairo-Istanbul route and are a visible, almost nostalgic, time-line of what once was a cluster of connectivity between all the cultures and countries in the regions.

Just fifteen minutes (10 Km/6 miles) north of Nahariya on the coastal road in the modern Matte Asher regional district, the area is populated largely by kibbutz and moshav (communal farm) communities with many bed-and-breakfasts available for independent travelers. Shelomi, once a small development town a few minutes away from Rosh HaNikra, has grown enormously. The high school is in Kibbutz Gesher Haziv and is named Sulam Tsor, from the Biblical roots.