Gilbon Cave, Golan Heights
- Location
- Nahal Gilbon
- Elevation
- 321 m above sea level
Cave mapView the map (PDF)Description of the cave:
Gilbon Cave is a huge chamber cave that developed at the contact line between a layer of Dalwe basalt and a layer of fossilized 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 streambed. The cave entrance faces west, measures about 4X13 m and is very prominent in the landscape. The cave entrance leads to the cave space, which is built of an oval chamber measuring about 12X16 m with an average height of about 4.5 m. The floor of the chamber is covered with basalt rocks of various sizes that create different height levels in the cave. On some of the basalt rocks there is carbonate flowstone.
On the southern side of the cave there is a narrow passage that formed between the collapse rocks filling the cave space and the southern wall of the cave. This passage is at the lowest point in the chamber, its floor is horizontal and covered with dark soil, and in its ceiling there are a few carbonate stalactites. This passage shows the original ground level of the cave.
Downstream along Nahal Gilbon there are two small horizontal niches.
Niche 1: The niche is located in the middle of a cliff on the southern bank of Nahal Gilbon about 250 m west of the Gilbon waterfall (slightly east of the path descending to the stream) and about 5 m above the streambed. It measures about 3X1 m.
The niche entrance is clearly visible from the southern bank and is above the line of the oleander treetops.
Niche 2: The niche is located at the contact line between a basalt layer and a fossilized soil layer on the southern bank of Nahal Gilbon about 400 m west of the Gilbon waterfall and about 60 m above the streambed. It measures about 2X5 m.
The niche entrance is clearly visible from the southern bank.
Access and hiking:
Access to the entrance of Gilbon Cave is not problematic.
Access to the niches requires walking along a contour line from the access path running along the southern bank of the stream (red trail marking).
* No bats were observed in the cave.
* During the visit to the cave, porcupine quills and droppings were found in it.
Equipment:
- A visit to the cave does not require the use of special equipment.
Written by: Boaz Langford
