This page was translated from Hebrew and has not been reviewed yet. The Hebrew page is the reference. עברית

Balcony Cave, Ein Alva, Nahal Gush Halav

Grid ref.: 192545/271106
Location: Ein Alva – Nahal Gush Halav
Elevation: 660 m above sea level

Cave description:

Hermit Cave is the smallest cave in the Ein Alva complex (its total length reaches 40 m).

The cave is built of a single passage that developed in a general northeast direction; in the passage, signs of phreatic dissolution can be seen in the form of dissolution domes and rounded passages.

The cave entrance is wide, measuring about 4X4 m, and from it a wide and tall passage extends to the northeast (A). After about 25 m the passage space narrows, and at that point there is a wall that was built during the last decade by a hermit who lived in front of the cave. At this point the passage turns north and immediately again to the northeast (B); during this bend the passage space narrows further, and after a narrow passage it widens into a small space (C) in which the passage ends.

Human presence:

On the southern side of the cave front, outside its entrance, there is a conical cupmark, narrow and deep.
At the entrance to the cave, near the entrance, there is a plastered stone wall built by a person who lived in the cave in 2000 (by chance, during the renewed mapping of the cave, the 'hermit' who lived in it came to visit the place. According to him, he left the cave after, following an informant's tip, the law enforcement authorities demanded it of him).

Fauna:

Bats that were not identified were observed in the cave.

Access:

Access to the cave entrance requires climbing a short rock wall (about 4 m) up to the entrance of Balcony Cave. From the cave entrance there is another climb up to the cave entrance (a simple climb without need for technical means).

Written by: Boaz Langford

The cave: Hermit Cave