Mount Bental
From the top of this volcanic cone, at an open-air lookout that was once a military outpost, you can see Mount Hermon rising majestically to the north and the Syrian side of the Golan stretching eastward. Opposite is the ruined town of Kuneitra, captured by Israel in 1967, lost and regained in the 1973 Yom Kippur War, and returned to Syria in the subsequent disengagement agreement—it is now a demilitarized zone. Modern Kuneitra is in the distance. The cluster of white buildings south of old Kuneitra houses the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force. A pine-cabin shop serving coffees, herbal teas, and a nice selection of snacks is the perfect place to get out of the wind that often sweeps this peak. The lookout is near Kibbutz Merom Golan; signs along the rural roads point the way. It's open all the time.
