Caves of the Golan and Hermon

Mount Hermon Survey

Mount Hermon is an area of alpine character whose maximum height within the State of Israel reaches 2236 meters above sea level. In the Mount Hermon area, hard limestone, high precipitation and great elevation above sea level come together. These conditions create a clear potential for the formation of varied karst caves.

Banias Waterfall Cave

Banias Waterfall

A small cave with a single cavity that developed in Pleistocene travertine rock (Dan Travertine Fm.). The cave entrance is exposed in the cliff on the western bank of Nahal Banias, below the entrance booths to the Banias Waterfall site.

Nabi Hazuri Cave

Hermon Slopes

A burial cave, apparently based on a small natural cave that developed at the top of a slope within the watershed of Wadi a-Nakib (a short channel that eventually drains into Nahal Banias).

Mitzpe Shlagim Cave

High Hermon

Discovered in 1993 during site preparation work at the Mitzpe Shlagim outpost. The cave is made up of two vertical chimneys, apparently vadose, but it is hard to discern the original dissolution marks since most of the cave walls are covered with impressive speleothems: flowstone sheets, elephant ears, stalactites and stalagmites, corals, pagodas and cave pearls (in pools)."

Gilbon Cave

Nahal Gilbon

A giant chamber cave that developed at the contact between a layer of Dalwe basalt and a layer of fossil soil.

The cave is located on the southern bank of Nahal Gilbon, about 100 m east of the Gilbon Waterfall and about 10 m above the stream channel.

Brigade Commander's Chimney

Dovdevan Spur, Hermon

The Brigade Commander's Chimney Cave developed along a local fissure without a doline. The cave consists of two chimneys: a main chimney 30 m deep and of varying width. A second chimney descends from the bottom of the main chimney to a further depth of 9 m.

Yif'at Cave

Between Nahal Arar and Nahal Havushit

An 'aging' and interesting system of small chimneys, and a fine example of the development of a vadose system in highly fractured rock, as found on Mount Hermon.

Ravak Chimney

Har Dov

Discovered by Shuka Ravak, Eliyahu Vagshal and Yossi Lev Ari on a tour conducted at the end of the 1970s on the High Hermon together with an Austrian cave researcher.

After the cave was discovered and surveyed, it was found to be one of the largest and most impressive caves in the Hermon and Har Dov area. It was named in honor of one of its discoverers, who contributed greatly to cave research in Israel.