Israel is covered with hiking trails. Here, we explore one such trail in the Upper Galilee: Nachal Amud. Nachal Amud is a 15-mile long river between the Meron Mountains and Safed. Consequently the government declared the river a nature reserve in 1972, making it a popular attraction for hiking and camping.

After a little bit of walking, the sun scorching but the wind blowing sufficiently upon us to keep us at a reasonable temperature, we came upon an abandoned building. Eventually reading the pamphlet it became clear to us that this building was the old British Mandate police headquarters for the area back in the 1930s.

HIKE GALILEE – NACHAL AMUD NEAR SAFED

We approached the water, hearing screams of joy. We encountered an enormous group of young teens who’d come out to hike and to enjoy the river’s many swimming holes.

Leaving the swimming holes and walking at a slightly higher altitude, we came across a series of old building and also structures along with a narrow and surprisingly long aqueduct that brought water to the higher area. The buildings comprised a complex known as the Sheik’s House. The house stood proudly, boasting an orchard and vineyard cascading down the slope towards the sparkling river.

Along the path, still in the area built up by some mysterious Sheik, there are these too. The fountain may be more modern, I do not know. As for the arched structure, that may have been a stable or even rooms to sleep or eat in.

As we cleared through the numerous archaic structures, many of which have been overgrown with vegetation, we began the uphill ascent back to the parking lot. The path was far more grueling than we had imagined but for a time the view was great. Here, in the distance, in the famous city of Tzfat (Safed), on a mountaintop between the two hills closer to us.

Also an additional piece of trivia: Archaeologists have done some searching in the area of Nachal Amud after someone in 1925 chanced upon historical findings dating back supposedly thousands of years.