Nahal Snir (Hasbani River)
Galilee travel guideNahal Snir (Hasbani) is the longest in the sources of the Jordan. The stream flows all year round, and along its banks of plane trees and walls built of dripping streams. Unlike other sources in the Jordan, Nahal Snir has considerable differences between the winter and the summer currents.
Day parking – The hikers’ parking lot is part of Snir Park. This parking lot serves the great demand for leisure and recreational activities, and it is possible to have picnics (this activity is forbidden in other parts of the reserve, so as not to harm the values of nature). The parking lot is located at the entrance to the reserve. Burning fire in the entire reserve including in the parking lot – forbidden in the park of the senses – follow nature – an experiential route for the whole family in the Nahal Snir Nature Reserve that combines sensory experience, connection to nature and a glimpse into the world of wildlife and physical contact with water, earth and wood. Two ponds were excavated.
One is a “paddling pool” for the enjoyment of hikers, and the other serves as a shelter garden for rare aquatic plants, such as yellow nofar and tiny marzipan, which are almost extinct in the wild in the country. The shaded path passes in the shadow of thick plane trees, and from time to time crosses shallow streams that join the rushing stream. During the winter months, the trail is closed from time to time due to strong currents. These waterfalls are submerged in a thick layer of yellowish rock known as travertine, and in beautiful Hebrew “dripping streams”. This rock is formed in stone deposition processes (like the scale in the kettle) following a slow and prolonged flow over the years. In fact, the entire east bank of the creek in the reserve area is built of this rock – evidence of the intensity of the flow in this area in the past.
The reserve is located in the Galilee, north of Kibbutz HaGoshrim, and is about five kilometers long, from Highway 99 in the south to the village of Ajar in the north. For security reasons, you can only visit the southern part of the reserve.