Gan-Garoo Australian Park

Lower Galilee

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Kids will love this delightful little corner of Australia, where – amid Aussie vegetation – they can pet and feed friendly, free-range kangaroos. Another hit: in the aviary (open for 20 or 30 minutes every hour or two) visitors can feed apple slivers to colourful lorikeets and cockatiels. Ever resourceful, the birds have developed a habit of hopping onto people's shirts and licking their neck sweat for its salt content.

Opened in 1996, this fully accredited zoo, run by Kibbutz Nir David, is also home to cassowaries, emus and flying foxes. Situated 6.5km west of Beit She'an, next to the entrance to Sachne (Gan HaShlosha) National Park.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • 500649340 2015; 4847930; Annunciation; Architecture; Basilica; Basilica of the Annunciation; Christianity; Church; Church of the Annunciation; Courtyard; Dome; Galillee; Horizontal; Israel; Middle Eastern Culture; Nazareth - Israel; No People; Orthodox; Orthodox Church; Outdoors; Palestinian; Photography; Religion; Spirituality; Travel; Exterior of the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth.

    Basilica of the Annunciation

    15.99 MILES

    Dominating the Old City’s skyline is the lantern-topped cupola of this Franciscan-run Roman Catholic basilica, an audacious modernist structure that’s…

  • Ruins of amphitheater in the ancient Roman city. Bet She'an National Park, Israel 165513272 semicircular, stone, ruins, theater, travel, row, past, archeology, destroyed, engineering, column, layers, culture, middle, history, east, old, roman, open, level, israel, building, technology, circular, spectators, bet, area, time, place, architecture, city, arena, seating, tribune, tourism, art, antique, amphitheater, mediterranean, ancient, scene, style, sliced, structure, exterior, pavement, performance, national park, beit, shean

    Beit She’an National Park

    3.12 MILES

    Beit She’an’s extraordinary Roman ruins are the best place in Israel to get a sense of what it was like to live, work and shop in the Roman Empire…

  • Magnificent monastery surrounded by columns and slender tall palms and cypresses. The Church of the Beatitudes is a Catholic church of the Italian Franciscan convent on the Mount of Beatitudes. ; Shutterstock ID 2170188309; purchase_order: 65050; job: ; client: ; other: 2170188309

    Mount of the Beatitudes

    26.46 MILES

    Since at least the 4th century, this landscaped hillside is believed to be where Jesus delivered his Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7), whose opening…

  • GINOSAR, ISRAEL, SEPTEMBER 15, 2018: An ancient wooden boat found in Ginosar, Israel; Shutterstock ID 1323755573; purchase_order: 65050; job: ; client: ; other: 1323755573

    Ancient Galilee Boat

    23.62 MILES

    In 1986, when the level of the Sea of Galilee was particularly low, a local fisherman made an extraordinary discovery: the remains of a wooden boat later…

  • The Cave of the Coffins facade, Bet She'arim National Park, Israel.

    Beit She’arim National Park

    22.99 MILES

    Nestled between Mt Carmel and Lower Galilee, spellbinding Beit She’arim is pitted with ancient catacombs, many of which you can enter. In the 2nd century…

  • Built on top of the mountain, Ajloun Castle is a fine example of Islamic military architecture, marking it an important strategic link in the defensive chain against the Crusaders.

    Ajloun Castle

    20.64 MILES

    This historic castle was built atop Mt ‘Auf (1250m) between 1184 and 1188 by one of Saladin’s generals, ‘Izz ad Din Usama bin Munqidh (who was also…

  • An ancient Roman era main street in Tzipori National Park.

    Tzipori National Park

    19.24 MILES

    In ancient times, Tzipori was a prosperous and well-endowed city with stone-paved roadways (you can still see the ruts left by Roman wagons), a…

  • International centre Mary of Nazareth located in the old city in Nazareth, Israel.

    Centre International Marie de Nazareth

    16.02 MILES

    Almost across the street from the Basilica of the Annunciation, this stunning complex is run by Chemin Neuf, a Roman Catholic community based in France,…

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Nearby Lower Galilee attractions

1. Japanese Garden

1.37 MILES

Up the hill from the ancient Beit Alfa Synagogue, deep inside Kibbutz Heftzibah, is something unexpected: a lovely little Shinto-style Japanese garden…

2. Beit Alpha Synagogue

1.42 MILES

No one was more surprised than the members of Kibbutz Heftzibah when they went out to dig an irrigation channel in 1928 and uncovered a stunning,…

3. Beit She’an National Park

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4. Museum of Art, Ein Harod

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Almost as remarkable for its modernist building (inaugurated in 1948, with additions from the 1950s) as its outstanding art collection (mainly by Israeli…

5. Nachmani Winery

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UK-born Frances and her Moroccan-born husband David have turned a wine-making hobby into a micro-winery that produces just 2100 bottles a year. You can…

6. Belvoir Crusader Fortress

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Set on a hilltop 550m above the Jordan River, this Crusader fortress, measuring an impressive 110m by 110m, consists of concentric ramparts, gates,…

7. Masjid Jenin Al Kabir

9.6 MILES

With its unmissable green roof, Masjid Jenin Al Kabir (Jenin Great Mosque), was built in 1566 on the orders of Fatima Khatun, then wife of the Governor of…

8. Freedom Theatre

9.83 MILES

Set in Jenin's refugee camp, the Freedom Theatre has persevered in the face of unimaginable odds, including the assassination of its founder, Juliano Mar…