Yehudiya Nature Reserve, one of the most popular reserves in the Golan Heights, features an impressive collection of natural phenomena, including dramatic canyons, powerful waterfalls, and beautiful rock formations. As a big reserve with many hikes, a campground, and other great things to do, including abseiling, we would highly recommend you pay a visit to this wonderful place in the southern part of Golan Heights.
Get to know Yehudiya Nature Reserve
The Yehudiya Nature Reserve is one of the most famous and well-traveled reserves in Israel, thanks to the spectacular canyons that cut through the Golan Heights in the area of the reserve on their way to the Sea of Galilee, creating great views, plenty of water, and wonderful hikes.
The reserve is named after the abandoned historical village of Yehudiya, located in its center, whose name indicates the ancient Jewish past in the area. The whole water you can see in the reserve flows directly to the Sea of Galilee by two main streams – Daliyot River in the south and Meshushim River in the north, as both merge with the smaller Yehudiya and Zavitan rivers.
The fauna in the reserve is very diverse, as it includes wild boars, deer, and hares, as well as wolves, goats, a variety of birds of prey, reptiles, and fish.
The different parts of Yehudiya Nature Reserve
Hameshushim Pool
In the deep canyon of Nahal Meshushim – the largest river of the Golan Heights, an amazing natural gem is hidden. A cool and deep pool, the walls of which are built of black basalt marble, which is one of the most beautiful places in the Golan Heights and among the most impressive in the whole country.
Unfortunately, the access to the pool is a bit difficult, as it involves a steep descent and ascent from this parking lot, taking about one hour in total, and is therefore intended for experienced hikers, and is not recommended on particularly hot days.
Zavitan River
The Zavitan River is one of the most beautiful in the Golan streams, and the trip along the upper stream is an amazing opportunity to see the “Zavitan hexagons” – deep and clear pools next to impressive basalt cliffs, which serve as evidence of the lava that once flowed here from the volcanoes of the Golan Heights, such as Mount Bental.
Yehudiya River
Yehudiya River, similar to the Zavitan River is also known for black basalt rocks, evidence of the volcanic eruptions that created the Golan Heights. It also features a few different waterfalls and natural pools, that offer a great opportunity to cool down in a stunning location on hot summer days.
Best hikes in Yehudiya Nature Reserve
Yehudiya River long route
The long and circular route – a route of medium difficulty, lasting about 3 hours of walking. This route includes walking inside the stream in wet sections, so we would recommend you bring walking shoes suitable for walking in water and stepping rocks. This route begins not far from the visitor center of the reserve. in the southern part of the parking lot at the entrance to the reserve, look for the red-white trail markings. This route will lead you through a special passage that goes under the road until you reach an ancient building (a remnant of the village of Yehudiya).
After you have walked about one kilometer/0.8 miles, you will notice a branching of paths: red and black. Here, take the black-marked trail that will lead you to the Upper Yehudia River. After walking for about 15 minutes alongside a cliff with mesmerizing views, you will notice a very steep descent. From here go down until you reach the edge of the stream. This is where the real fun of the trip begins, as you will walk about 500 meters/0.4 miles in the wet Yehudia River channel surrounded by beautiful vegetation.
Later on, you will reach the icing on the cake of the hike: the large Yehudiya Waterfall that descends from a height of no less than 20 meters/65 feet and smashes hard into a big natural pool. After enjoying cooling down in the beautiful pool, walk back through the red trail markings to the parking lot.
Upper Zavitan River
The entrance to the route is from the Yehudiya parking lot. From the parking lot, walk along a dirt road marked in blue to the ruins of the village of Sheikh Hussein, and there turn north (right) onto a dirt road marked in black.
Continue walking for about half an hour until the black path crosses the stream and meets a path marked in red. Turn left to the red path that continues down the stream and leads to the great natural pools of the river. After spending time in the pools, continue with the red path to the great viewpoint which overlooks the Zavitan Fall, and from here it is recommended to turn right to the blue path that descends to the waterfall itself.
The descent to the waterfall is steep and a bit difficult, but it will lead you to two large and deep pools located at the foot of the waterfall. From here, the return to the vehicle is via the blue path – a walk of about 45 minutes.
The Majrase
At the mouth of Nahal Daliot is one of the most enjoyable and experiential hiking trails in Israel – the “wet trail” of the Majrase. This is a section of about 800 meters/2,264 feet of walking inside the flowing stream, and at the end, you can return to the starting point via a nearby dry route and get an impression of the reserve and its scenery without walking in the water.
The walk in the stream is on the path marked in blue. The depth of the water is not constant and depends on the season and the amount of rain that fell in the winter. Usually, the maximum height is up to the height of an adult person’s belly. After about 300 meters/1,000 feet, the channel widens and deepens until it becomes more of a pool where you can swim.
Here, those who have had enough with the trip inside the river so far can go left to the south bank of the stream and return to the dry route, but we would recommend you continue further in the pleasant and deep water until you reach the sign indicating the end of the route and directing the travelers to the left, to the south bank of the stream. Here you leave the water and return to the starting point on a dry, paved, and accessible route.
