Though it may be hard to see why this area of the Carmel mountains is called Little Switzerland, it is not hard to see the spectacular beauty of the region.
By JACOB SOLOMONCarmel Mountain Range 224.88 courtesy(photo credit: Courtesy)
Some diehards may view this hike as an accessible (though unofficial) extension of the Israel Trail. It leads through demanding terrain in natural Mediterranean forest, leading right up to the University of Haifa.
Those who started from Kibbutz Yagur take the Israel Trail to where it crosses Route 672, just north of Usfiya. Turn right, and follow that road for just over a kilometer to Damon Junction - the beginning of the hike.
There is ample parking space for those who prefer to treat this excursion as something to be savored in its own right. Though short by Israel Trail standards at just seven kilometers, it puts a wide range of quality hiking skills to the test.
They include "walking intelligence" - knowing precisely where to put your feet on a sharp, difficult, and often slippery descents, and keeping an eye on the trail markers which are easy to miss once distracted (as did during my iPod's rendering of Haydn's Symphony No. 46). That is vital. Ignore one, and you might splatter into a rocky abyss below dry rapids. Not recommended.
Though slow work, the trail has the attraction of being in the shade of natural Mediterranean forest. Gentle wind rustling through the trees becomes amplified, giving the subtle, if erroneous, message that you'll not be walking alone. But far from a mere walk in the woods, the trail follows paths painstakingly blazed through dense thickets of buckthorns, arrow-woods and laurels flourishing under the native, rather small, kermes oaks. Many of them are regenerating after being swept by the fires of 1989 and 2005.
Start walking westward along the north side of Route 721. After a couple of minutes, a blue sign sandwiched in white beckons you away from the road downhill into Nahal Kelah - the Kelah Valley. Follow it, and it slowly becomes narrower, more wooded and difficult underfoot.
The kelah plant, which gives this valley its official name, is the giant fennel. Widespread throughout the country, cattle and goats pass it up, preferring tastier pasture. In folk medicine, the seeds serve as a remedy for kidney stones.
Locals nicknamed this area Little Switzerland. I'm not sure how they make the connection. Though nearing the Haifa suburbs, the valleys are so narrow that you would have to go deep into Switzerland to feel quite so secluded. And few if any of the Mediterranean trees and flowers make it that far north. (Nor, for that matter, does the same density of garbage left by thoughtless hikers.)
You are now in the heart of the Carmel Range, whose summits exceed 500 meters. Geologically speaking, it is very young. Evidence currently available indicates that it actually formed underwater. A series of subterranean eruptions covered the bottom of the sea with lots of volcanic ash. That became plastered by layers of hard limestone and chalk, made up from the shells of countless generations of sea crustaceans. It was folded out of the water into the present Carmel Range by more recent horizontal movements of converging underlying magmatic material.
Fast-flowing seasonal rivers incised deep valleys into it, including the one in which you are now standing. The weaker and more heavily jointed rocks were eroded, leaving the more resistant stretches to head seasonal waterfalls and rapids.
In practical terms, all that means you will have to bypass five sets of seasonal waterfalls and rapids. In each case, the blue markers show you where to go. They interrupt your leisurely meander downhill with a sudden scramble up a steep bank, and then a longer and generally more severe drop down to the riverbed, below its unexpected plunge. Those markers are abundant; however, I would gladly trade in a few of them for some thoughtfully placed metal handholds, like those on Mount Arbel - especially on limestone rocks in wet weather.
By the time you've successfully negotiated five of these progressively difficult riverbed diversions, the reward of the trail presents itself. You are entering a wider, very scenic and more level stretch as the trail hugs the eastern side of the Kelah Valley at a height sufficient to clear all obstacles.
Now is the time to sit down and take in the surroundings. The Carmel Range is dedicated to nature conservation and especially to maintaining the Mediterranean habitats of Israel; indeed, this is one of the few surviving such natural forests in the country.
Look for the carob trees with their moon-shaped fruits carpeting the trail. Native to this part of the Mediterranean coast, their pods were a most important source of sweetness for the region before cane and beet sugar became widely available.
By all means, munch a few as you roll along. Carob powder and carob chips are sometimes used as a substitute for chocolate in cakes and cookies; though they do have an acquired, sharpish taste.
The numerous narrow-leafed trees native to the area are Aleppo pines. Their resin flavors retsina, a favorite Greek wine. Their distinctly delicate appearance makes them popular ornamental trees in hot, dry areas such as southern California, where its heat and drought tolerance is highly valued. However, they are considered a feral weed in South Australia's Eyre Peninsula, where they are being eradicated.
The wildflower brigade should book this area for the spring. On sun-exposed stretches, aromatic herbs and other plants with very short life cycles, such as anemones and cyclamen, germinate during the winter rains, flower in spring and lie dormant (inactive) during the summer.
Also look out for the Madonna lily, one of the prettiest and largest wildflowers in this country. At one-and-a-half meters tall with flowers that measure 10 cm. across, its odor is especially powerful at night when the flower opens to be pollinated by moths.
Today it is one of Israel's most cultivated flowers, and its oil is extracted for perfume manufacture. In Christianity it symbolizes purity, therefore the local monks during the Byzantine period often dug up its bulb to ship home to Europe - bringing that plant to the verge of extinction in the Holy Land.
Do not pick the flowers! Assume that anything you'd like to take home is legally protected.
The two-thirds point of the hike, time-wise, occurs where the Kelah Valley (blue-marked) meets the Galim Valley (green-marked). Follow the green markers up the steep, but highly picturesque, valley, which will knock the wind out of all but the fittest hikers. Take frequent breaks.
Sadly, the upper slopes as you near the university suffered two devastating forest fires (in 1989 and 2005), where the population of the university and the nearby Denia residential area suffered emergency evacuation. Though the native species of pine and oak are naturally fire-resistant, they failed to bear the blaze's intensity caused by low humidity and the wind speed of the hamsin, the dry summer wind. Your testimony will be the scattered charred burnt trees and shrubs, many bravely reestablishing themselves, though current estimates place full recovery at 50 years.
Looking back, Little Switzerland appears as an undulating green carpet, softly folded into waves. But by now you appreciate how deeply they are dissected with deceptively demanding hiking country. Where the footpath suddenly becomes paved, turn left and follow a fairly level course for about a kilometer until it comes out opposite the university. Cross Route 672, and complete the hike with an elevator ride to the top floor of the university tower, with its 360-degree view of the Carmel region and far beyond. Grab some solid and liquid refreshment at the university's numerous outlets, and hop on bus 37 to get you back to the parking lot at Damon Junction.
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