Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: planning record, not independently verified geometry.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distances and riding times are planning figures. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
214 km from Umm el Faḥm to Umm el Faḥm, about 3 h 41 of riding. It goes by way of Sites of Human Evolution at Mount Carmel:, House of ‘Abbúd, Qalaat Chama’ and back through House of ‘Abbúd. It crosses from Israel into Lebanon - carry ID and check the toll rules. The line favours views over speed.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Biblical Tels - Megiddo
Megiddo is the hill that gave the world the word Armageddon, which comes from Har Megiddo, the mount of Megiddo, and it sits where the Jezreel valley opens to the coast road, a little north of the Wadi Ara pass. The tell is a long mound made of some twenty layers of ruined cities piled on top of each other, and from its top the whole green plain stretches north to the hills of Nazareth. Today it is inscribed on the World Heritage list together with two other biblical mounds.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Biblical Tels - Megiddo is where the day begins. Next is Sites of Human Evolution at Mount Carmel:.
2. Sites of Human Evolution at Mount Carmel:
In the caves of Nahal Me'arot, on the western slope of Mount Carmel near the coast south of Haifa, people lived on and off for half a million years, and both Neanderthals and early modern humans left their bones here. The four caves, Tabun, Jamal, el-Wad and Skhul, contain one of the longest records of human evolution anywhere, and they were listed as a World Heritage Site in 2012. Tabun alone has layers spanning hundreds of thousands of years. The Natufian culture, among the first people to settle in villages before farming, also left traces in el-Wad.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Sites of Human Evolution at Mount Carmel: comes up about 29 km into the recorded legs. Next is House of ‘Abbúd.
3. House of ‘Abbúd
Acre sits at the northern tip of Haifa Bay, on a small peninsula that has been a port since the Bronze Age, and the House of Abbud is one of the Ottoman-era buildings of its old town, in a maze of stone lanes about a kilometre from the walls.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 69 km into the recorded legs you reach House of ‘Abbúd. Next is Qalaat Chama’.
4. Qalaat Chama’
Before anything else: this is one of the most sensitive places on any of these routes. Qalaat Chama, or Shamaa castle, stands on a hilltop in southern Lebanon, a few kilometres north of the border with Israel and inland from Naqoura, in an area that has seen repeated conflict, including heavy fighting in recent years, and that many governments advise against visiting under any circumstances. Damage to historic sites in the area has been reported, and conditions may have changed. Do not go without checking current official travel advice, and if in doubt, do not go at all.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Biblical Tels - Megiddo closes the day.
Leg by leg
Biblical Tels - Megiddo to Sites of Human Evolution at Mount Carmel:
Biblical Tels - Megiddo → Sites of Human Evolution at Mount Carmel: is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Sites of Human Evolution at Mount Carmel: to House of ‘Abbúd
Sites of Human Evolution at Mount Carmel: → House of ‘Abbúd is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
House of ‘Abbúd to Qalaat Chama’
House of ‘Abbúd → Qalaat Chama’ is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Qalaat Chama’ to back through House of ‘Abbúd
Qalaat Chama’ → back through House of ‘Abbúd is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through House of ‘Abbúd to back through Sites of Human Evolution at Mount Carmel:
back through House of ‘Abbúd → back through Sites of Human Evolution at Mount Carmel: is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Sites of Human Evolution at Mount Carmel: to Biblical Tels - Megiddo
back through Sites of Human Evolution at Mount Carmel: → Biblical Tels - Megiddo is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.