Thousands of visitors climb Herodion every year. Just below it, a quiet desert canyon hides monks’ caves, a prophet’s hometown, and one of Israel’s largest caves.
From the top of Herodion National Park, the view runs all the way to the Dead Sea. Most visitors come for Herod’s palace-fortress, take in the panorama, and drive home. Few of them look down at the deep cleft in the hills just to the south.
That cleft is Nahal Tekoa, a nature reserve where the green hills of Judea give way to the desert. This canyon is also home to one of my favorite hiking trails in all of Israel.
No matter the season, Tekoa Canyon is serenely peaceful. In the winter, flowers and greenery fill the crevices, but lined in the golden grass of summertime, the canyon is no less striking.
Into the canyon
There are several ways to hike through Nahal Tekoa. One trail starts at Herodion, then drops between pale limestone cliffs, crosses the dry streambed, and winds along ledges where the drop on one side is steep enough to make you slow down.
From the ledges, you can’t help but stop to take it all in – birds swooping from one side of the canyon to the other, catching the breeze that always seems to exist at the edge of the desert.
All along the way, the cliffs are pocked with caves. Some are shallow overhangs. Others run deep into the rock, and with a flashlight you can duck inside and feel the temperature fall.
The last stretch is a steep climb out of the canyon. Emerging into the quieter part of the town of Tekoa, you’re greeted by neatly tended olive groves. From there, Herodion’s flat-topped cone rises just to the north, looming large in the distance.
The monks of the canyon
The caves of Tekoa Canyon were not always empty. In the fourth century, a monk named Haritoun came to the Judean Desert and became one of the founders of its monastic tradition.
Other monks gathered around him, and a monastery grew up along the canyon. Its ruins are still there, including a stone tower about six meters high and a large, well-preserved water reservoir that probably kept the monks alive through the dry months.
According to the Parks Authority, Haritoun spent his last years in what is called the hanging cave, set high in the cliff face. Many of the smaller caves along the canyon were used by monks as solitary retreats.
Farther along the streambed is Haritoun Cave itself, one of the largest caves in Israel. It contains about 55 halls and chambers on four levels, with about four kilometers of passages.
Pottery found inside dates back to the Middle Bronze Age, thousands of years before any monk arrived.
Today, long-eared bats call it home (which I’ve never seen). Casual visitors can pop into the cave, but internal routes require crawling and navigating. Only attempt a deep dive with an experienced guide.
A prophet’s hometown
The canyon is named after Khirbet Tekoa, ruins identified as biblical Tekoa. Long before the monks, this was a Judean town on the edge of the wilderness.
Its most famous resident was the prophet Amos, who introduces himself as “among the herdsmen of Tekoa” (Amos 1:1). He wasn’t a priest or a court prophet, but a shepherd, and it’s easy to picture him walking these slopes with his flocks.
Tekoa appears several times in the Bible. King David’s general Joab sent for “a wise woman” from Tekoa to help reconcile David with his son Absalom (2 Samuel 14).
King Rehoboam fortified the town as part of Judah’s defenses (2 Chronicles 11:6). Before a battle in the “wilderness of Tekoa,” King Jehoshaphat told his army: “Believe in the Lord your God, so shall you be established” (2 Chronicles 20:20).
Shepherds, prophets, kings, and monks all passed through this incredible canyon. Today, we can follow in their footsteps.
Herodion will always draw the crowds, and it absolutely deserves them. But the next time you visit Herod’s mountain, schedule a stop at Tekoa Canyon just below. It holds 3,000 years of history and almost no crowds.
It’s one of my favorite places in Israel.
If you go
Location: Nahal Tekoa Nature Reserve, near Herodion National Park off Route 398. Waze lists it as “Nahal Tekoa Nature Reserve.” The trail is located in Judea and Samaria.
The route: The Parks Authority recommends starting at the Herodion parking lot. To follow this route, walk about 400 meters along the road to the blue-marked trail heading south, which descends into the canyon and climbs to the ruins of the Haritoun Monastery.
From there, a black trail follows the streambed about 400 meters to the entrance of Haritoun Cave. The route is 4.5 kilometers one way and takes around three hours, not counting the cave.
For easier, more direct trails in this reserve, visit my website, Hiking the Holyland. The start and end points of the trail that I recommend are within the town of Tekoa.
Difficulty: Moderate, with steep sections and cliff edges. The Parks Authority describes the trails as suitable for experienced hikers. We’ve brought kids and babies on the short trail.
Cost: Entry to the reserve is free. Herodion National Park, next door, charges an entrance fee.
Best season: Fall through spring. The brown iris blooms here in March. Don’t hike when flash floods are possible; after rain, the trail is slippery and dangerous.
What to bring: Good hiking shoes, plenty of water, sun protection, and a flashlight for the smaller caves. Hike during daylight hours only.
Before you go: You may enter Haritoun Cave only with an experienced guide, and it's best avoided in winter, when the bats hibernate. For guided visits, the Parks Authority refers hikers to the Har Uvka guidance center (02-654-1255).
The writer is the founder of Hiking the Holyland. Follow her hikes on Instagram @hikingtheholyland. This is the fourth in a series of columns exploring the lesser-known corners of Israel’s nature reserves and national parks.
Follow us on GoogleSource: The Jerusalem Post · SUSANNAH SCHILD
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