Much like Kashmir or Iran, the Golan Heights have the dubious honor of appearing more often on newspapers’ front pages than in their travel sections. Since Israel captured the Golan during the Six Day War in 1967, this region, which stretches from the Sea of Galilee in the south to Mount Hermon in the north, has been one of the world’s most contested pieces of political real estate.
It’s also one of the Earth’s hidden gems. The Golan’s 1,200 square kilometers harbor a treasure trove of lush farmland and sky-scraping volcanic terrain, the fate of which forms the crux of one of the world’s most notorious geopolitical disputes. A visit to the Golan Heights grants travelers access to the natural and human worlds behind the headlines, challenging minds with a ground-level perspective of the machinery of conflict and resolution. (more…)
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