From the top of Tel Megiddo, the whole of the Jezreel Valley spreads out below you, a green and gold checkerboard of fields stretching towards Mount Tabor and the hills of Galilee. You can see at once why so many armies fought here. The mound guarded the narrow pass where the ancient coastal road, the Via Maris, crossed from the Mediterranean plain into the valley, and anyone who held it controlled one of the great trade and military routes of the ancient world.
The tel is made of more than twenty layers of cities, built one on top of the other over several thousand years. Excavations have revealed Canaanite temples, palaces, city gates and a remarkable water system, a shaft and tunnel cut through the rock to reach a spring outside the walls, which you can walk through today. The pharaoh Thutmose III recorded his victory at Megiddo in the fifteenth century before Christ, one of the first battles in history described in detail. The name gave rise to Armageddon, the site of the final battle in the Book of Revelation, and the place carries that weight. With Hazor and Beersheba, it is part of a UNESCO listing of biblical tels.
Megiddo lies in northern Israel near Kibbutz Megiddo and the road junction where Route 65 through Wadi Ara meets the valley; Umm el-Fahm is the nearest large town. The roads here are mostly fast and busy, with long straights across the valley floor and gentle climbs into the hills, and drivers can be assertive. Summer temperatures soar, so ride early and take water. Winter brings occasional heavy rain that makes surfaces slick.
Given the conflict in the region, check current travel advice carefully before planning a visit, and be prepared for checkpoints and changing security conditions. Fuel stations are common along the main roads, and the national park has a visitor centre with refreshments. Nearby towns serve excellent hummus, falafel and grilled meats, and in spring the valley fields are lush and green, shading to straw by early summer.