A great “Wet” Summer Hike! The Dan and Hermon (Banyas) streams flowing from the foothills of the Hermon mountain and the Snir stream flowing from Lebanon, Join here and from the beginning of the Jordan River. We walk inside the water wading and sometimes swimming surrounded by beautiful river scenery
| Hike Metrics | |
|---|---|
| Distance | 3.5 Km (1 Km Wading/Swimming) |
| Short versions | N/ A |
| Climb | Almost Flat |
| Level | Easy |
| Best | Jun - Sep |
| Possible | Apr - Oct |
| Location |  |
| Start Point | |
| Hike Description | |
Important note #1: The Hike is very easy but you must be a decent swimmer!! Some sections, the water can be more than 2 meters deep.
Important note #2: There are no waymarks along this route. However, the navigation is very easy and with the detailed map you should have no problem.
The area in the “Galilee Panhandle” (Finger of the Galilee) is also nicknamed in Hebrew “Eretz Palgey Maim”, translated to English as “The land of water streams”. It is by far, the richest area in Israel with natural water streams. Therefore, it is a perfect outing destination during the exhausting of August heat. The Jordan River is created by the merging of 3 main tributaries:
- The Dan stream is the largest tributary of the Jordan River. The stream starts from the Dan spring in Tel Dan nature reserve. It is a huge spring, the largest in the middle east. and it generates alone 50% of the Jordan river’s water flow!
- The Snir stream (Hazbani) is the longest of the 3 and the only one that starts in Lebanon. In total it generates 27% of the Jordan river’s water.
- The Hermon stream (Banyas) originates at the foot of Mount Hermon. and it generates 23% of the Jordan river’s water.
In this hike we will walk in the lower section of the Hermon Stream
Track description:
- From the parking area head towards the gate of the Kibbutz. Just before the gate turn left onto the dirt road that follows the river. (1)
- Follow this road up-stream parallel to the river for a total of 1.8 km.
- After a few minutes, you will see a stream merging with the river from the left. This is the Snir stream arriving from Lebanon. You are observing the exact point where the Jordan river starts!
- On your right is Kibbutz Sde Nechemya.
- After 650 m you will reach the footbridge (2) where you will be returning from.
- Continue straight on the road until you see a parking area on your right.
Get the Hiking Map and GPS file for just 5$
- Turn left and follow a clear and short path to the river bank.
- You can also enter the water in several other places along the road before and after this point, depending on how long you want to go back inside the water.
- Enter the water. You are now inside the Hermon (Banyas) stream.
- The walk now is in full shade all along, and with the cool water of the stream, it feels perfect even in the boiling summer heat. Enjoy!!
- Start walking/wading down-stream. After a few minutes, the Dan stream will merge from the right.
- Continue down-stream and shortly you will feel that the flow gets stronger and you will hear the sound of gushing water.
- You are approaching a small waterfall. Get out of the stream onto the east bank (Left) and bypass the waterfall.
- Get back into the water. Until this point, you passed about 200 m in the water. Continue downstream now without any interruption for about 900 m until you will see a small pedestrian bridge crossing the river about 50 m in front of you.
- Climb on the west (right) bank. (4).
- It’s recommended to use the Zoom-map for this section.
- If you reached the bride it means that you missed th exit spot!! go back about 50 m and look for spots where it’s easy to climb out of the water.
- Follow the path in downstream direction between the trees and the bushes until you reach the foot-bridge.
- Cross the bridge and meet the road you walked on at the beginning of the hike (2).
- Turn right and walk for about 650 m to the starting point.
Get the Detailed Hiking Maps and GPS files for this hike for just 5$
- Detailed Hiking Map of the route area optimized for printing on an A4 size paper or for browsing on your device.
- Zoomed in Maps for the sensitive areas (When needed).
- GPS track files for navigation on your IOS/Android App.
- Map Legend and labels are in English
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