One km down the road, Kibbutz She’ar Yishuv hosts the SPNl’s Hermon Field School (tel. 94 10 91). Buses #25 and 26 (NIS3.80) from Kiryat Shmona will take you to the kibbutz, The next kibbutz to the northeast, Kibbutz Dan, is in the midst of the Hula Valley’s thickest nature reserve, Tel Dan (tel. 95 15 79). The waters come from the Fountain of Dan at the foot of the large Tel Dan, still under excavation. The many springs nourish a dense grove of trees and bushes that grow to record heights-The paths in this small (under 100 acres) but pastoral reserve offer welcome oppor” tunities to cool hot paws in the trickling streams. (No swimming allowed.) A p^’ 1948 Arab flour mill has been restored by the park authorities, while ongoing excavations have revealed the ruins of the ancient Hyksos and Canaanite city of Lakhisf1′ which became the capital city of the tribe of Dan, one of the 12 tribes of Israel.

Tfre archeological record indicates that the site has been occupied continuously siflce the 5th millennium BC, and a remarkable find was made in the summer of 1993;a broken stele, inscribed with the words “House of David” in 9th-century BC Aramay not sound like much, but archeologists and biblical history scholars were2 tizzv over jts significance-the first known reference to the biblical King David (le’of the Good Book itself. To reach the reserve take bus #26 or 36 (NIS3-80) giryat Slimona to Kibbutz Dan, continue up the main road, and turn left at the to the reserve. A 3km walk will bring you to the entrance. (Guidebook available ticket window is worth the NIS.50.) The Banyas Waterfall, one of the most
sites in the north, is just a few km east (see the Golan).