Israel tourism and travel guide 

The Jalabun stream is one of the most beautiful streams in the slopes of the Golan: rushing waterfalls, chilly and enchanting pools, the remains of an ancient 1500 year old Jewish village, spectacular and colorful blossoms and many other surprises…

From highway 91 that goes from the Mahanayim intersection to the Golan, approximately 1.5 km after the Nashut intersection, we will turn left and after about 1.5 km we will arrive at the remains of the abandoned Syrian village, Awinat A-Shimla, which was used as a Syrian military camp up until the Six Day War in 1967. From this point we will head out along the marked red path, through the eucalyptus grove, in which we will find the remaining abandoned and destroyed structures. Within a few minutes, we’ll begin descending to the gully. The descent is short and in part has stone steps. Along the path we will encounter seasonal blossoming in the spring and early summer.

As we arrive to the flowing river bed, we’ll note a cluster of myrtle bushes – one of the “four species” in Israel. We will also see planted willow and eucalyptus trees.

We will cross the stream that flows into a small olive grove, at the end of which we will arrive at a black-red crossroad. Next to the crossroad we will find a “gum rock” – an ugly phenomenon created by careless hikers. We will continue walking the red path until we reach the impressive outlook at the top of Dvora waterfall, the first waterfall in the stream’s canyon, which is about 10 meters high.

After about 100 meters, we will reach a blue-red crossroad. From here it is recommended to climb towards the remains of the Syrian village Dvoria. This village was founded by Bedouin on the ruins of the Jewish village – Dvora village, one of dozens of Jewish settlements that were founded in the Golan after the failure of the big Jewish revolt against the Romans in the year 70 AD, which followed by the exile of many Jews from Judea to the periphery areas, Galilee and the Golan.

We’ll walk around the village’s ancient buildings and witness unique architectural features, such as stone lintel, picturesque stone arches, embossments on the exterior walls of the houses, olive press remains used for olive oil production (which was the main economic industry of the village and contributed to its establishment), stone columns and capitals with distinct Jewish markings.

From here we will descend down the blue path and return to the red path. Carefully, we’ll continue hiking down the steep stream through the thicket above the chilly pools of the stream and reach the Jilabun cave, one of the only volcanic caves created in the Golan, which also presents a beautiful view of the stream’s ravine spilling into the Jordan River in the Hula Valley.

A short walk will lead us to a red-blue crossroad. The blue path will lead us up a steep and short climb towards the parking lot from which we started the track. If there’s another vehicle available or there is an option to be picked up downstream, it is recommended to continue walking another 3 km along the red path.

A safety rail and sound of falling water will mark our arrival to the top of the Jilabun waterfall, it is 41 meters high and it is the second tallest waterfall in Israel after Gamla waterfall. Along the trail there are spectacular outlooks of the impressive waterfall, and after a short walk through the thicket of oleander bushes we will reach a cool pool at the foot of the waterfall, a refreshing dip before continuing on the track.

We’ll continue on the red path, along the ravine and later through the abandoned Syrian village Jalabina, and an abandoned Syrian post overlooking the Hula Valley settlements. A few hundred meters later we will reach the Officer’s Pool that was built for the Syrian officers stationed there at the eve of the Six Day War. The pool gets its water from the nearby Jalabina spring. From this point the path enters a narrow “hallway” with barbwire fence on both sides, because the area on both sides is essentially a landmine field, which requires extreme caution. Thorny raspberry bushes grow on both sides of the path, and the hiking is mostly done on smooth rocks and flowing water, so this part of the hike requires extra attention.

After about 10 minutes of climbing down through the thicket, we will reach an impressive flour mill that got its water from the Jilabun spring. Inside the mill structure itself we’ll see the grinding wheel that was powered by the flowing water. This mill was operational until the Six Day War.

From here, we will continue through the thicket, as the ground becomes more leveled, until eventually we will hike on a dirt path along the streaming ravine until we reach our vehicle that will be waiting for us beside the “Pkak Bridge” next to the Jordan River.