Why this ride
A 181 km round trip from Safed - roughly 3 h 07 in the saddle. The stops in between: Qalaat Chakra, Qalaat Chama’, Qalaat Tibnin and back through Qalaat Chama’. It crosses from Israel into Lebanon - carry ID and check the toll rules.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Tel Hazor and Qalaat Tibnin
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 181 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 07
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
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.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Tel Hazor
If you stand on the top of Tel Hazor on a clear day, the view is of the Hula valley to the north and the hills of Upper Galilee to the west, with the snow-capped hump of Mount Hermon, in winter, sitting at the far end. The tel itself is a vast, flat-topped mound, the largest ancient site in Israel's north, rising out of the fields near Kibbutz Ayelet HaShahar. It is what archaeologists call a tel, a hill made of the layers of cities built one on top of another over thousands of years.
Read the complete Tel Hazor write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Tel Hazor is where the day begins. Next is Qalaat Chakra.
2. Qalaat Chakra
Before anything else, the honest part: this place lies in southern Lebanon, a few kilometres from the border with Israel, in an area that has seen repeated war, most recently in 2024, and that remains militarised and unpredictable. The listed neighbours on the route sheet, from Kiryat Shmona to Tyre, sit on opposite sides of a frontier that is closed to ordinary travel. Check your government's travel advice and local conditions very carefully before even thinking about a visit, and do not try to approach from the Israeli side.
Read the complete Qalaat Chakra write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Qalaat Chakra comes up about 29 km into the recorded legs. Next is Qalaat Chama’.
3. 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.
Read the complete Qalaat Chama’ write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 65 km into the recorded legs you reach Qalaat Chama’. Next is Qalaat Tibnin.
4. Qalaat Tibnin
Tibnin is a castle on a hill in south Lebanon, and the story it tells is one of rival crowns trading the same piece of ground. The Crusaders built it in the early twelfth century, around 1105, under Hugh of St Omer, and called it Toron. It sat between the coast at Tyre and the road to Damascus, and from its walls a garrison could see raiders coming a long way off. Saladin took it in 1187, and the fortress changed hands and shape for centuries afterwards, ending up a half-ruined hill crowned with pale stone, with a village of the same name spread around it.
Read the complete Qalaat Tibnin write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Qalaat Tibnin, about halfway. Next is back through Qalaat Chama’.
5. back through Qalaat Chama’
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Qalaat Chama’ write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Qalaat Chama’ sits at 121 km, about halfway. Next is back through Qalaat Chakra.
6. back through Qalaat Chakra
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Qalaat Chakra write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Qalaat Chakra comes up about 155 km into the recorded legs. Next is Tel Hazor.
7. Tel Hazor
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Tel Hazor write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Tel Hazor closes the day.
Leg by leg
Tel Hazor to Qalaat Chakra
Tel Hazor → Qalaat Chakra is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Qalaat Chakra to Qalaat Chama’
Qalaat Chakra → Qalaat Chama’ is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Qalaat Chama’ to Qalaat Tibnin
Qalaat Chama’ → Qalaat Tibnin is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Qalaat Tibnin to back through Qalaat Chama’
Qalaat Tibnin → back through Qalaat Chama’ is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Qalaat Chama’ to back through Qalaat Chakra
back through Qalaat Chama’ → back through Qalaat Chakra is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Qalaat Chakra to Tel Hazor
back through Qalaat Chakra → Tel Hazor is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
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