Poria Illit: Views, Cycling Route and History

When planning a trip around Poria Illit, views, cycling and history offer different points of interest. Nearby are the Tamar Lookout and the Switzerland Forest Single; Tel Kedesh adds a biblical connection to the area. In the wider Northern District travel destination, Tel Hazor and Tel Megiddo add archaeological themes.

Landscape and Cycling Route

You can reach the Tamar Lookout by continuing about 100 metres south along the gravel road. A date palm stands in a small clearing; from there, the view extends across the Sea of Galilee, the Jordan Valley and Gilead. Check current access conditions before your visit.

As another way to experience the landscape, the Switzerland Forest Single is a cycling route that loops along the steep slopes on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, between Poria and Upper Tiberias. This means there are two different points of interest nearby: a view from a lookout and a cycling route along the western shore. For planning purposes, they differ in both the activity and the terrain.

Tel Kedesh and Biblical History

Tel Kedesh lies about half a kilometre north of Ein Poria. The site is identified with biblical Kedesh Naphtali, an Israelite city of refuge and the home of the judge Barak ben Abinoam. Its location north of Ein Poria provides a geographical reference; its identification with Kedesh Naphtali establishes the historical connection. Tel Kedesh thus complements the landscape and cycling themes with a specific link to biblical tradition.

Archaeological Themes in the Northern District

In the wider Northern District travel destination, Tel Hazor is a biblical tell with significant remains of a city with biblical connections. Visits to Tel Hazor in the Northern District focus on the Upper City. Solomon’s Gate at Tel Hazor in the Northern District has six chambers and two towers and dates to the 10th century BCE. The Canaanite palace at Tel Hazor in the Northern District was used by the kings of Hazor in the 14th and 13th centuries BCE. The Late Bronze Age palace at Tel Hazor in the Northern District is considered the most elaborate in Israel and one of the most important in the Levant.

In the wider Northern District travel destination, Tel Hazor’s water supply is also an archaeological theme. At Tel Hazor in the Northern District, significant remains of an underground water-collection system attest to sophisticated engineering adapted to the geography for storing water. The excavated shaft at Tel Hazor in the Northern District is 45 metres deep; steps three metres wide are cut into the walls of the vertical shaft. The fortifications at Tel Hazor in the Northern District are considered the finest example of their kind in the area from southern Turkey to the northern Negev.

In the wider Northern District travel destination, Tel Megiddo is one of three tells preserving significant remains of cities with biblical connections and closely associated with events in the Bible. The Early Bronze Age temple complex at Tel Megiddo in the Northern District is exceptional in terms of the number of its temples, the continuity of cult activity and its documented ritual practices. The Iron Age orthogonal city plan at Tel Megiddo in the Northern District has few parallels in the Levant. These features of Tel Megiddo in the Northern District draw attention to two different aspects of the site: religious practice and the layout of a city.

For the wider travel overview: Kinneret.