The Nimrod Fortress or Nimrod Castle is a castle built by the Ayyubids and hugely enlarged by the Mamluks, situated on the southern slopes of Mount Hermon, on a ridge rising about 800 m above sea level.
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Today's first visit was to the largest medieval castle left in Israel. This was the Nimrod Fortress, actually built in the 13th century as a response to the crusades but never really tested as by then the crusaders had fallen to petty infighting and were steadily being mopped up by the Muslims.
The 90 minute drive was interesting as we got into the hills, very windy roads with the usual moronic drivers overtaking on blind bends etc but now combined with potholes and crumbling road edges. The fortress was at about 1000m so it was noticeably colder than Tiberias when I stopped to take some pictures of it on our approach, Deb even had to wear my coat until we got out of the breeze!
When we got to the castle it was just us and one other car so we pretty much had the place to ourselves the whole visit. It was incredibly well laid out for visitors with a clearly marked route and lots of information boards. The weather was superb with beautiful blue sky and we soon warmed up with the walking and climbing! The fortress is still being excavated but we were able to see a lot including inner vaulted chambers that hadnโt collapsed, lots of inscriptions, a very dodgy looking reservoir and fabulous views.
To the NW across the valley was the crusader fortress of Beaufort and you could see how the Nimrod Fortress dominated Mount Hermon and the Hula valley as well as the Tyre โ Damascus road. We followed the route along the less well defended (due to the terrain) northern side, saw the prison tower and then returned to the car park to find some food as there was no...
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What. A. Place! Can't believe I'm 40 and never been here before until now!
What a beautiful place, surrounded by breathtaking views of the Golan and Hermon mountains and panoramic landscape.
The story of the place is very interesting and you can join a free guided tour (we were on a Saturday, 11am and the 14 pm).
The tour does the short trail and after it's finished you can go to the top of the fortress on your own (there are some stairs) and enjoy the views and nice cool breeze.
When you get down from there, you might find a different path with a sign that's says this way is for experienced hikers only. Note that this path leads back to the main gate at the bottom of the reserve, and NOT back to the parking lot.
At the parking lot there are toilets, a food truck and a place to sit in the shade.
Bottom line: a MUST VISIT if you're in the...
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As someone who travels and has traveled lots throughout israel for many years, this has been a listed destination that I wanted to visit since my army service. I took my love there for Valentine's and we had an amazing time sightseeing and walking through the towers, ruins, walls and garden, even through a little crawl hole under the northern defense tower. The view is incredible, stretching from the lower part of Mt. Hermon and the western slopes of the Golan, towards the Hulah Valley and Kineret, to the mountains of the Galil. Beautiful part of the country. Bring water on even a cold day because going around all of it is an exercise! Some, but very limited climbing in parts of the complete round track. Take a friend, bring the Pakal Cafe XD and enjoy the views and vibes....
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