Mount Bental

Infobox Mountain
Name=Mount Bental
Photo=HarBental_WaterReservoirAndMountain.jpg
Caption=Mount Bental (left), with water reservoir in the foreground
Elevation=1171 metres
Range=
Location=Golan Heights
Prominence =
Coordinates = coord|33|07|45|N|35|47|09|E|type:mountain|display=inline,title
Topographic

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Mount Bental ( _he. הר בנטל, "Har Bental") is a part of an extinguished volcano in the north east of the Golan Heights. The top of the mountain is 1171 meters above sea level.

The mountain is a part of a series of hills. Close in the south is Mount Avital, with a height of 1204 meters above sea level. In fact, the two mountains are two craters of just one volcano. Both mountains together form the Nature Reserve "Har Avital - Har Bental". The western slope of the mountain is covered by a densely oak forest.

The arabic name is "Tal Al-A'ram" ( _ar. تل العرام), which means "Lover hill" or "Hill of impassioned love". The mountain is located west of the Syrian city Quneitra and south of kibbutz Merom Golan at its slope.

On the top of Mount Bental is the visitor center of the Golan Regional Council and a reconstructed IDF emplacement (built on the original Syrian emplacement). The mountain is a excellent lookout point towards Syria in the east, the Hermon slopes in the north and southern Golan Heights. Near the visitor center is a small sculpture garden exposing steel sculpters of the Dutch artist "Joop de Jong", a member of kibbutz Merom Golan.

The name of the restaurant on the top is "Kofi Annan" (hebr. קפה ענן), which means "cloud coffee".

At the bottom of the mountain is a huge water reservoir, the "Bental reservoir", built in the 80ies. It is filled by rain water and local creeks (flowing into Syria and agricultural fields east of Mount Bental before). The red marked hiking trail #1100 leads from the water reservoir to the top of the mountain.

Gallery

External links

* [http://www.2eat.co.il/anan/ Coffee Annan] restaurant.