CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
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.
A 216 km round trip from Umm el Faḥm - roughly 3 h 43 in the saddle. The stops in between: 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.
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.
Read the complete Tel Megiddo write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Tel Megiddo is where the day begins. Next is 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.
Read the complete Sites of Human Evolution at Mount Carmel: write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Sites of Human Evolution at Mount Carmel: comes up about 30 km into the recorded legs. Next is 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.
Read the complete House of ‘Abbúd write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 70 km into the recorded legs you reach House of ‘Abbúd. Next is 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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Qalaat Chama’, about halfway. Next is back through House of ‘Abbúd.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete House of ‘Abbúd write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through House of ‘Abbúd sits at 144 km, about halfway. Next is back through Sites of Human Evolution at Mount Carmel:.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Sites of Human Evolution at Mount Carmel: write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Sites of Human Evolution at Mount Carmel: comes up about 186 km into the recorded legs. Next is Tel Megiddo.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Tel Megiddo write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Tel Megiddo closes the day.
Tel Megiddo → Sites of Human Evolution at Mount Carmel: is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
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 → Qalaat Chama’ is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
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 → 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: → Tel Megiddo is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.