The Golan Heights are a rocky plateau captured by Israel from Syria in the 1967 war and annexed in 1981, though the annexation is not recognized under international law. Israel declared sovereignty over the area in 2019, a move recognized by the United States but not by most other countries. The strategic territory sits above the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan Valley.
For visitors, the Golan is a scenic, largely rural area good for hiking, wine tasting, and slow driving. The plateau is green in spring, dotted with oak forests, volcanic rock, and wildflowers. Several boutique wineries operate here — Golan Heights Winery (Yarden) is the best known — and wine tours are easy to arrange.
The ghost town of Quneitra near the Syrian border was destroyed in the 1973 war and stands preserved as a memorial site on the Syrian side of the ceasefire line. The Israeli side has ghost villages of Syrian Druze who fled in 1967; you can walk around these ruined towns, with their collapsed homes and broken-down mosques, in an unsettling silence. The Syrian side is visible across the valley.
Nimrod Fortress, a Crusader and Mamluk-era castle with dramatic views, is one of the better-preserved medieval fortifications in the region. Banias (Caesarea Philippi) is an ancient site with a spring, waterfall, and ruins of a Hellenistic-era temple to Pan.
The Druze villages of the Golan — Majdal Shams, Mas'ada, Bukata, and Ein Qiniyye — are inhabited by Syrian Druze who retained Syrian citizenship and identity after 1967. They have a complex relationship with the Israeli state. The villages are open to visitors and have good restaurants.
Access is easy from Tiberias or Kiryat Shmona by car.