Emek HaMayanot Trail, Lower Galilee
December 2017
The 'Valley of Springs' trail in the Lower Galilee area of Israel is 120 km long winding its way through the mountains and valleys around the ancient city of Beit Shean. The trail (marked with orange coloured blazes) begins on top of the Gilboa mountain, from which you can see the suburbs of Amman in the east to the top of the Hermon mountain north in the Golan heights.
From that point, the trail goes down to the Valley of Springs down to the Harod stream. After passing hot spring fed pools, the trail heads north to the ancient crusaders fortress- Belvoir and it’s magnificent view 400 meters above the Jordan valley. Down from the well preserved fortress, the trail turns south and follows the border line between Israel and Jordan, and the old Ottoman railway to the pioneer kibbutz of Tirat Tzvi, and turns to the north west- to complete the circle in the ancient city of Beit Shean. Along the way you will pass the remains of settlements that date back thousands of years to the earliest time of human urban life.
When to go: This is one of the hottest places in Israel. It's actually dangerous to attempt this in the summer. The season to go is November to April.
A major flaw of the trail is that although it was designed a six day track, there are no permitted camping areas along the way. So we had to go rogue. We decided to complete the hike in two day sections camping out at night and taking our chances with the local park authority. The route described below shows a 34km section of the overall trail that we carved out.
From that point, the trail goes down to the Valley of Springs down to the Harod stream. After passing hot spring fed pools, the trail heads north to the ancient crusaders fortress- Belvoir and it’s magnificent view 400 meters above the Jordan valley. Down from the well preserved fortress, the trail turns south and follows the border line between Israel and Jordan, and the old Ottoman railway to the pioneer kibbutz of Tirat Tzvi, and turns to the north west- to complete the circle in the ancient city of Beit Shean. Along the way you will pass the remains of settlements that date back thousands of years to the earliest time of human urban life.
When to go: This is one of the hottest places in Israel. It's actually dangerous to attempt this in the summer. The season to go is November to April.
A major flaw of the trail is that although it was designed a six day track, there are no permitted camping areas along the way. So we had to go rogue. We decided to complete the hike in two day sections camping out at night and taking our chances with the local park authority. The route described below shows a 34km section of the overall trail that we carved out.
Meirav to Tel Te'umim
We started at the top of Har Gilboa on a black trail, exiting from the road through a small turnstile. The turnstile resisted, then squeaked, immediately devouring us with our huge backpacks. We squished and heaved until we made it through. Considering this is the start of a long trail, I would have expected a more significant marker - and a friendlier gate!
It was a sunny, warm day. Perfect hiking weather except – squelch! Our boots stepped into mud until we were carrying an extra heavy load under our feet. As it had rained heavily on Sunday (a blessing considering we are having a drought this winter), the trail was mucky and slippery. We were gently descending at this point but had to slow down and often stopped to scrape off the load from the soles of our boots. In other words, we had no traction. The path became steeper as we descended and soon we found ourselves in a rocky gully. I prefer zero gravity when going downhill so pushed away my poles and slid down parts on my backside. We came across rungs carved into the rock, but with a heavy backpack, I found this to be terrifying. By the time we came to level ground, I was thankful. Due to the mud and steep descent, it took us 3 hours to go 7 kilometers!
It was a sunny, warm day. Perfect hiking weather except – squelch! Our boots stepped into mud until we were carrying an extra heavy load under our feet. As it had rained heavily on Sunday (a blessing considering we are having a drought this winter), the trail was mucky and slippery. We were gently descending at this point but had to slow down and often stopped to scrape off the load from the soles of our boots. In other words, we had no traction. The path became steeper as we descended and soon we found ourselves in a rocky gully. I prefer zero gravity when going downhill so pushed away my poles and slid down parts on my backside. We came across rungs carved into the rock, but with a heavy backpack, I found this to be terrifying. By the time we came to level ground, I was thankful. Due to the mud and steep descent, it took us 3 hours to go 7 kilometers!
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We then found ourselves in valley of verdant fields, aquaculture, irrigation canals and beautiful natural water pools. Storks, pelicans, egrets and herons swooped across the fish ponds, eyeing their catch until shots boomed, forcing them away. We walked until we came to Ein Moda, a pool in an oasis of pine, fir and eucalyptus trees. It was an idyllic spot for pitching a tent but one sign indicated no camping while another sign said there was a 24-hour surveillance camera. I was actually too tired to traipse off and hoped, prayed that we would not be evacuated in the middle of the night.
We packed up our equipment and started to walk north. The trail was now well marked with an orange blaze and we followed it with confidence past other beautiful ponds and pools until the blazes stopped. We backtracked and eventually found the trail again, soon arriving at the beautiful waterfall of Nahal Herod. We walked across a narrow bridge then descended into a lush forest that took us to the town of Beit Shean.
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We pitched our tent, sipped some soup, then crawled into the tent. It was pitch black and was only 5:47 pm. I knew it would be a long night as tents and I are not amenable to sleep. Not only that, I started to hear the howl of a jackel. Then another. And another. We were surrounded.
I lay still acutely listening while Amir slept. The jackals howled most of the night, staking out their territory, and sounding as if they were right outside the tent. I was thankful to be alive when the sun peered into our tent. No eviction from the Park Authority and no attacks from wildlife. 
At this point, we exited the part of the trail that heads north and cut across town to catch the same trail heading south. We found it, following it through a residential area of Beit Shean until it met with fields of wheat and carrots (we lost it for a few kilometers yet again, reconnecting with it at Kibbutz Ein Hanatsiv). It then became an agricultural tour of olive groves, avocado groves and date groves. We saw barn owl boxes in the groves, the brainchild of ornithologist Yossi Leshem . Owls help farmers eliminate the use of pesticides on their crops.
Owl Nests
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We passed two ancient archeological sites, Tel Rehov and Tel Atomim, places which were important cities some 2,500 years ago. The path was flat and easy to follow except when the blazes simply stopped or were hidden under olive branches. Beware! By the end of the day, we walked out to the road that would take us back up Har Gilboa and to our car. Amir put out his hand to hitchhike and the first car that passed stopped to take him!
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