Rosh Hanikra on the Israel Lebanon Border
Posted: Tuesday, November 23, 2010
by Eddy Tuchman
http://le-caribbean-islands.com
Rosh Hanikra is located on the Israel Lebanon border, on the northwestern corner of Israel. This is an unusual geographical site where the Mediterranean hits the cliffs. From these white chalk cliffs you have a panoramic view of Haifa and the hills of the Galilee.
It was the site used by Israelis and Lebanese in 1949, to sign the official armistice that ended the hostilities of the Arab Israeli War of 1948
The grottos of Rosh Hanikra were formed by the sea cracking away pieces of the rock during thousands of years helped by undersea shocks. The rain and seawater entered through the cracks and widened the grottos to what they are today.
These caves come in different heights, some of them 7 meters below sea level, others at 3 to 5 meters below current level. Another layer of sediment was even found above the railway tracks at 8 meters above the current sea level.
Israel built a 200 meters long tunnel that connects the grottos. When you arrive to the site a cable car takes you down to the cliffs and a small train takes you along the shore to Hof Achziv. An audiovisual presentation explains the story of Rosh Hanikra.
Rosh Hanikra, translated into English the head of the Grottos, is actually a Kibbutz near the beach and the Lebanese border. It was established in 1949 as a Kibbutz by former Hagana soldiers that had their base in nearby Kibbutz Hanita. They were joined by young Zionist pioneers from other parts of the country and many Holocaust Survivors just arriving from Europe.
Nature Reserve and National Park
The area around Rosh Hanikra includes a number of nature reserves, The Rosh Hanikra islands with 311 dunams declared in 1965, the Rosh Hanikra reserve with 500 dunams declared in 1969, and an additional 765 dunams in 1996. Rosh Hanikra beach - 230 dunams, declared in 2003 and the Rosh Hanikra National Park also has jurisdiction of 220 dunams in the area.
The grottos ceilings are home to bats and the cliff's grots are nesting grounds for rock pigeons and swallows. Near the water edge, it is possible to observe female seagulls as they gather food, abundantly found on the beach rocks. The crevice waters allow ideal living conditions for a multitude variety of marine life.
On a few full moon nights during the year, it is possible to observe a ravishing sight - hundreds of tiny new born turtles making their way to the ocean. Rosh Hanikra Beach constitutes a watery mating site. The eggs will be laid by the female at the sandy coves between the beach rocks.
Opening hours:
September to March From 8:30 am to 4:00 pm
March to September From 8:30 am to 6:00 pm
Fridays and holiday eves Until 16:00.
This Article has been viewed 335 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)It sounds extraordinary, I would love to visit - and do the turtles actually only hatch on full moon?Hi Jennifer keep visiting my sites:
I keep writing all the time about interesting places
Good luck
Eddy
We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.