The Mount Hermon Resort is celebrating 50 years of operation. The site is open year-round, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors annually. The sprawling grounds cover approximately 600 acres, at heights from 1600-2040 meters above sea level.
Mount Hermon is especially popular in the winter, as it is the only sky resort in Israel. Thousands of skiers of all levels take to the slopes and many visitors simply come to play in the snow. During the summer, there are guided hikes to the hills where military battles took place, popularly known in Israel as “The Eyes of the Nation”, as well as numerous summer attractions such as: a 1250 meter-long cable car to the top of the mountain, an alpine coaster, the aerial “Sky Rider”, summer tubing and mountain cart.
The highlight of the tours is the spectacular observation point located 2070 meters above sea level, which provides picturesque views of the entire Golan Heights – including its volcanic hills, the Odem Forest and numerous Druze villages. On clear days, visitors can see all the way to the Sea of Galilee and even make out the Israeli-Syrian border, the Druze village of Hader, which lies across the border, and the Syrian town of Al Qunaitra. To the west, one can see the Hula Valley, the Upper Galilee, the Beaufort Ridge and the mountains and villages of Lebanon.
The observation point overlooks the tri-border area among Israel, Syria and Lebanon and demonstrates how strategically significant Mount Hermon is for the State of Israel. During the tour, visitors also hear about the battle to conquer the Mount Hermon military post during the Yom Kippur War, a battle that has become a symbol and the basis for calling Mount Hermon “The Eyes of the Nation”.
Height causes changes in the environmental conditions and greatly affects vegetation. The difference between the mild, warm climate found at the foot of Mount Hermon and the extreme, cold conditions on the peaks causes significant change, especially temperature-wise.
The alpine prickly bush, with its low, round hedgehog-like appearance caused by the strong winds that blow on Mount Hermon, grows at the summit. Some of the other plants found there are Onobrychis cornuta, Acantholimon libanoticum and Prunus prostrata. In the spring, plants from the same species may be in different stages of blossoming, depending on their exposure to the snow, such as the Fortail Lily (Eremurus libanoticus), Onobrychis cornuta, Astragalus dactylocarpus and Glaucium.
Flowers on Mount Hermon are mainly pollinated by butterflies and flies, which is characteristic of alpine areas of the world. Strong winds limit animal movement during the summer months. Some birds and insects ascend the mountain as the snow line melts. Thus, for example the Carduelis carduelis, which is normally only found at the foot of Mount Hermon, flies up to the summit in late summer. There are only a few insect species on Mount Hermon - Truxalis Grandis, a large grasshopper with small wings; praying mantis – the species on Mount Hermon is the Eremiaphila; and ladybugs abound around the vegetation. When the weather begins to cool, they disappear into the thickets.
Mount Hermon combines rare and unique animal and plant life, amazing nature and vistas, and battle heritage.
