Straddling the highlands and ridges that run up to the rugged Anti-Lebanon mountains, the Golan Heights are an enthralling corner of Israel. They might be a little off-the-beaten-path, but they come steeped in Old Testament tales, ancient history, and gorgeous natural vistas that are sure to set the camera lens a-clicking. 

Golan Heights tour guides showcase curious treats like the gondola swinging to the top of Mount Hermon, opening up the sole skiing pistes in the country. But snows melt fast in these parts, revealing great valleys and plateaus that host reserves like Gamla – home to a 2,000-year-old Jewish city now lost in rock and watched by wild eagles. Hiking boots might also be required for the dusty trails of Banias, a place of babbling rivers and grassy gorges where ancient temples lurk between the bluffs. Most travellers come to unwind in the bubbling hot springs that spurt from the ground in Hamat Gader. Others come for the rich biblical histories, coalescing along the fabled banks of the Sea of Galilee. Others, still, for the enthralling Islamic history that oozes from the half-crumbled walls of Nimrod.