Nahal Kziv and Monfort trail are among one of Israel's most beautiful routes. Add to it an ever-flowing stream, a spring tunnel, a Crusader fortress on the mountainside and plentiful Galilean green and what you've got is a tour you'll never want to miss!
Regional Map
Many are the ways to enjoy a hike in 'Nahal Kziv', and my advice is to take a circular route of approximately six kilometers, and though it ends with not so mild climbing, it can mostly fit in for the whole family. It is recommended to spare this tour to the hot season, when taking such routes that lack the chilling pools of the Kziv river might be not so pleasurable. Don't forget to bring swimming suit or extra clothes to change and a torch in case you'll want to enter Ein Tamir- the Spring tunnel.
Nahal means river; however, in the Israeli context it's usually a wadi (from Arabic), or a canyon that occasionally flows with rainfalls in the winter.
How to arrive
1. A circular route (6 km) - this route begins and ends at the same point and it befits those who arrive in one vehicle. Turn north in route 89 [1] to Meilliya and Mitspe Hilla. Near the entrance to the Mitspe (a settlement on high location), continue straight to a dirt road [2]. Take in this road an additional roughly 200 meters until arriving, to your left, to a parking lot. From this point track the footpath that descends to the river, whose mark in the marking paths map [the 1:50,000 SPNI mapping system] is black.
2. A non-circular route 1 (6 km) - in Beztet intersection drive east to Kevish Hatsafon (route 899 – The North Road). After 12 km there is a sign indicating right to Park Goren. In Park Goren, follow the sings until Monfort observation point [9]. Here the route starts. Continue with the other vehicle eastwards, adjacently to the river bank, and in where the road takes a left turn, continue directly in the dirt road another 200 m until the point [10], which is above Ein Tamir (marked blue in the marking paths map).
3. A non-circular route 2 (6 km) – this route starts next to Ein Ziv. From route 89, take the north turn in the western entrance of Ma'alot-Tarshiha [7]. Follow the road that goes down to the river until the point from which further driving is impossible [8] next to a Mekorot water pump. The other vehicle should wait at the end of your route at points [9] or [6], as was explained above.
4. A difficult-level hike (25 km) – starting point is at the Druze village of Hurfeish. The route starts next to the plaza in the northern entrance of the village and goes on in windings all along with the river until Moshav Avadon.
The Route
(Arrival according to route no. 1) – From the parking lot, there is a footpath that descends northeast, which is marked black in the marking paths (note that there is an additional dirt road also with a black marking but it heads westward toward the sea). From the starting point of the footpath there is a spectacular view of Nahal Kziv. With its 20 km of windings, nahal Kziv is extended from the western side of Miron Mountains to its estuary north of Nahariya. During the winter, the rainfall of the many rains is drained into nahal Kziv, and strengthened by the flaw of the springs that emanate alongside the riverbed. Currently, Mekorot (the national water company of Israel) pumps the water of Kziv's principal spring, Ein Ziv, and supply it to the inhabitants of the western Galilee.
The footpath takes us to the feet of mitspe Hila, one of the Mitspim that were built during the 1980' in an operation to populate the Galilee with Jews. Alongside the path, among the many trees of the Mediterranean forest that adjoined to our way, we can see the common oak, Atlantic Terebinth Tree, Syrian Maple, Roman laurel, cercis, eastern Cyprus tree and Italian buckthorn.
During the last days of winter and the beginning of spring we may meet in our way many flowers such as crown anemone, turban buttercup, and Florist's cyclamen. Towards the end of spring we can notice blossom stalks of the bristly hollyhock, and also sage-leaved rock rose, Cretan rock rose, thorny bornet, red cudweed, wild carrot and many more flowers.
The Madonna Lily
After one-km walk, we'll see a turn to our left directing to another footpath, which is marked with blue. Taking the blue footpath would extend the route by 1.5 km, and it is recommended to those who still going strong. It would lead to an observation with a nice scenery of Kziv, which rejoins then, back with the black footpath.
Following this route allows also to see one of the rarest and most beautiful flowers of the land of Israel. Around May-June, the Madonna Lily blossoms at its full beauty, in discrete groups in the skirts of the blue footpath. It is recommended to search for it, but remember that picking is not allowed.
The spring of Ein Tamir
In returning to the black footpath and after an additional 1 km, we'll reach the bed of nahal Kziv where we'll encounter the green marking that passes through the river. We'll take the right turn and climb up the stream bed and not long after 400 m we'll reach Ein Tamir [3]. We can locate the spring easily because there are many rocky pools around it. It's also an excellent place to stop and take a splash in its water. In this place, in the south bank of the stream, a tunnel was carved to support the spring capacity. The entrance is narrow but then it becomes wider, and walking in the water is a wonderful experience. At the end of the tunnel, we'll arrive to a deadlock and reverse back to the entrance. Don't forget your flashlights.
After stopping for a splash, we'll return with the green footpath down the stream to the place from where we were coming. After a short while, we'll be rejoined again with the black footpath with which we previously descended, yet we'll continue walking down in the bed of the stream following the green trail. The footpath continues through an impressive avenue of oriental plane that shelters the stream with its shadow. In the past, the oriental plane avenue had extended and shadowed the entire route, but pumping the Ein Tamir waters by Mekorot dried the eastern part of the avenue. Because of this misuse, the company undertook it upon itself to allocate 100 cubic meter water per hour for allowing the preservation of the unique vegetation of Nahal Kziv.
In the waterside, we'll find abundance of river vegetation: horse mint, blackberry, great willow herb, common fig trees, water-cress, common reed and more.
After hiking another 1.5 km, we'll join the black footpath that descend from Granot Ha-galil [4]. We'll continue with the green footpath, and not more then 500 m after that, we'll see to our left an old flour-mill. This water-mill, and many more like it in Kziv, was supplying for the inhabitants during the various historical periods. The last flour-mill, which owned by a villager from Mi'ilia, stopped its grinding in the 1950'. The method of operating the flour-mill was common to many streams in Israel: a part of the water stream was captured in a tunnel and was made to flow toward the flour-mill, while using the natural slope of the river to increase the height between the bed of the stream and the tunnel. In the flour-mill building, the water used to fall through a chimney and vertical shaft [U1] toward the paddlewheel. Here gravity was manifesting itself and the pressure of the falling water would start the water wheel whose upper part was tied to millstones – the upper and lower millstones. The water from this point onward was made to flow back to the bed of the stream.
The Monfort Fotress
About one km after the flour-mill, down the stream, we'll encounter another flour-mill and a red footpath that ascend to Monfort fortress [5]. We'll follow this footpath that climb from the southern bank toward the fortress [6].
The Arabic name of the Monfort Fortress is Qala'at Qurein, i.e. the little horn fortress which is named after its locus on a steep mountain range. Being an asset of a crusader order, the fortress was subjugated to the Mi'ilia's local center. The myriad ranches and flour-mills that surrounded the fortress were part of the agricultural deployment of the fortress. The fortress was laid waste parallel to the Mamluk conquest of the country led by Baybars after 1265. The scenery from the observation on the fortress is very impressive, and it is interesting to imagine which kind of life did the crusaders had led in this fortress 800 years ago. The apparent ruins on the surface today are only small part of the fortress and they include the bastion face and the keep (the gate tower). Many parts were totally destroyed or were never erected in archeological digs.
After visiting the fortress, we'll continue with the red footpath on the slope uphill. After 400 m, we'll be up. From here, we'll continue with the red footpath another km that follows the dirt road until encountering the vehicle [2].
More about in this area
Fallow-deer (roebuck) in nahal Kziv: the roebuck, a mammal that looks like a stag or a ram, used to teem in this area until its' extinction. In 1996 a population of ten fallow-deers were released after being acclimated in a corral near Ein Tamir.
Lodging in the area: in park Goren north to Nahal Kziv you can enjoy the free lodging (note: toilets and showers are unavailable).
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