Golan Heights

Offering commanding views of the Sea of Galilee and the Hula Valley, the volcanic Golan plateau is dry and tan in summer, and lush, green and carpeted with wildflowers in spring. Its fields of basalt boulders – and, on its western edge, deep canyons – are mixed with cattle ranches, orchards, vineyards and small, middle-class communities, both Israeli and Druze.