Mount Gilboa / Har Gilboa

District: Northern

Altitude: 508m/1,667ft

Situation and characteristics

Mount Gilboa, an outlier of the hills of Samaria, bounds the Jezreel plain on the southeast. Rising to a height of 508m/1,667ft above sea level, its summit is 628m/2,060ft above the town of Bet Shean, which lies 120m/393ft below sea level.

From the Afula-Bet Shean road a winding track runs up to the summit. The summit itself is a military area closed to the public, but there are good views on the way up.

History

Mount Gilboa was the scene of a tragic event in Jewish history. Here King Saul assembled his army for battle with the Philistines, who were encamped at Shunam, and consulted the witch of Endor. As the witch had foretold