Even if you’re not religious, you might have heard people referring to Israel in Western Asia as the ‘Holy Land’. As you would expect, the north of the country is full of sites of religious significance. What you may not know is that it is also full of amazing nature. After checking out some interesting sites in Southern Israel, the next logical step was to explore some of the major religious sites and nature of Northern Israel.
Religious Sites and Nature of Northern Israel – Nazareth
As Israel is a relatively small country, it only takes around two hours to get from Tel Aviv in the south to Nazareth in the north. The change between the two cities is nothing short of amazing. You could be forgiven for thinking you had slipped into another country. Tel Aviv is a mainly Jewish city whereas Nazareth is known as the Arab capital of Israel. You may also have thought that the town would be full of Christians, given its biblical significance, but almost 70% of the population are Muslims.

Not to say that the residents in the south are unfriendly, because they’re not, but the north just seemed friendlier. Arabs were an almost invisible minority in the south, yet they seem to share a genuine camaraderie with people from other ethnic and religious groups in the north. You really get the sense that no one in the north cares about race or religion, which means the atmosphere is very welcoming. You can expect to be greeted like a long lost friend upon entering almost any restaurant or sweet shop in town.




Thoughts on Palestine in Nazareth
With such a huge Arab population in Nazareth there is definitely a lot of support for a two-state solution for occupied Palestine. Sometimes, you can even find people’s thoughts on the walls.
Religious Sites and Nature of Northern Israel – Walking Into Another Century
Staying in the old town of Nazareth was like walking into another century. If you’ve heard any of the stories of Jesus in Nazareth, being there can make those stories come alive for you. The people of Nazareth from olden times must have been very fit. The old town is built on a hill, so if you want to get anywhere else in the city you’re going to have to walk up or down the hill. There is also no vehicular access to the old town, which makes it lovely to walk around!
The Jesus Trail – Combining the Religious Sites and Nature of Northern Israel
If you have not heard of the Jesus Trail, it’s a 65 kilometre hiking trail from Nazareth to Capernaum; ‘The Town of Jesus’. The route has 8 sections, from J1 to J8. It runs through many religious sites of importance that Jesus visited throughout his lifetime. I have to confess here that although I am aware of many of these religious sites, I am not actually religious. I wasn’t doing the Jesus Trail for the religious aspects, I just wanted to hike!
Religious Sites and Nature of Northern Israel: J1 – Nazareth to Zippori
As the trail is quite long, I was only planning to do the first two sections; J1 and J2. The first section of the trail starts uphill from the old town of Nazareth.
At this point, you need to walk along a road to find the start of the trail. On the way, this shiny thing caught my eye.
The trail markers were painted on rocks or trees along the trail, but as I found out, some markers had been lost to the elements. Of course, I didn’t get lost at all because of missing markers. Nah uh. Not me!
Full disclosure, I lost a bit of time trying to find some markers, but luckily someone had prepared a resting place for me!
And I got to chat to some locals.
Eventually, I made it to Zippori and it felt like I was in the middle of nowhere! I hadn’t seen another soul since I’d left Nazareth. Apparently, Zippori is the midway point between the Mediterranean coast and the Sea of Galilee. Jesus may have also done some work there.
It was hot and I wanted a bit of relief from the searing heat. So I went and spoke to the attendant for the Zippori National Park. I wanted to use his little booth’s shadow to shield me from the sun for a bit. He also gave me some cold water before I continued on my way. That was nice. You see, I actually had plenty of water, but the intense heat had made it too hot to drink. That’s how hot Northern Israel gets in the summer!
Religious Sites and Nature of Northern Israel: J2 – Zippori to Cana
I continued along a very open trail with no shade as far as the eye could see.
After an hour of that, I was on a ridge looking down on a farming settlement.
Then a short while later, after passing through an eerily quiet village, I came across these structures.
Walking A Long Way to See Religious Sites and Nature of Northern Israel
Having walked 16 kilometres in what I later found out was 40°C heat, I arrived in Cana around four hours after leaving Nazareth. I did not pass one single person on the trail or even bump into any people in the villages I went through. The locals were clearly smarter than me and were staying inside where it was cool. I may have been feeling a little bit like this guy.
Religious Sites and Nature of Northern Israel – Cana (Modern Kafr Kana)
If you’ve heard of Cana, you’ll know it’s famous for the first miracle and weddings. In fact, people come from all around the world to renew their wedding vows at the Wedding Church.
Right near the Wedding Church was another fenced-in church. I guessed it was a church from its gate, but all I could really see was the fence. The fence had biblical inscriptions on it.
Inside, the Wedding Church was a bit smaller than I had expected. Some of it was closed off and there were some ruins in another section.
The Round About Way to the Religious Sites and Nature of Northern Israel
Strangely enough, even though I’d walked 16 kilometres along the Jesus Trail to get to Cana, it was only a 5 kilometre walk back to Nazareth via the road. So Jesus could do miracles, but couldn’t walk in a straight line!
Religious Sites and Nature of Northern Israel in Galilee – Capharnaum/Capernaum
Another site of importance along the Jesus Trail is Capharnaum, the Town of Jesus. It is also the end of the Jesus Trail.
You have to pay a small fee to enter the ‘town’, but it is quite clearly well-tended. There are gardens and ruins.
And more ruins.
They even built the White Synagogue on top of the remains of the Jesus Synagogue.
The area is quite small, so you would need an hour at the very most. Just remember to go all the way to the back of the ruins to get this view.
Religious Sites and Nature of Northern Israel Combined – Sea of Galilee
You’ve probably heard of the Sea of Galilee, but did you know it’s not a sea? Just like the other ‘sea’ in Israel, the Dead Sea, it is actually a lake. It’s also one of the few places combining religious sites and nature of Northern Israel. As the biggest lake in the area, it is featured prominently in the bible. Before heading to the shore of the Sea of Galilee, I stopped at Mount Beatitudes where the Church of the Beatitudes has been built. Overlooking the Sea of Galilee.
Jesus is said to have given the Sermon on the Mount there. One interesting thing about the hill is that it is the lowest peak in the world, at only 25m above sea level. It’s still 200m above the Sea of Galilee though. That means you get a pretty good view of the lake from the manicured gardens surrounding the church.
But nothing beats dipping your toes in at shore level.
As you can see, there’s a heap of things to do and see in Northern Israel. So much, in fact, that the religious sites and nature of Northern Israel cannot be contained by just one post! Stay tuned for the next installment; Historic and Natural Places to See in Northern Israel.
Other articles in this series:
Interesting Sites in Southern Israel
Religious Sites and Nature of Northern Israel
Historic and Natural Places to See in Northern Israel
What is it Really Like in Palestine?
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This is such a great detailed guide. I’ll admit I’m not really religious but I do find history interesting and this seems like a great place to learn a lot and experience so many things we’ve heard of growing up. Israel sounds like a great place to visit and with so much to do considering that it is rather small. I would definitely want to do some of the hiking too.
Even not being religious, it’s still a cool feeling to be in places you’ve heard about your whole life. I dont actually like learning about history normally, but I love seeing it when I travel!
Such an amazing place- I have always wanted to visit this area of the world. Thank you for such a detailed post! I never knew the area was so beautiful!
It’s a really beautiful area. I’ll actually be covering some more hikes and natural wonders in the region in my next post. There’s just so much to do and see there!
Due to military assignments my husband has been to Israel multiple times. He wants to take my daughter and I but we haven’t made it yet. He has visited many of these sites and still talks about the Jesus trail.
It’s definitely a beautiful place and interesting place!
Thanks for sharing about this destination! I’ve never been to Israel, but it makes me want to add it to my list :)
It’s a lovely place to visit!
I love this post! I was attempting to put together a trip to Israel and Jordan for this summer (pre-COVID disaster, of course). I can’t wait to make it to these beautiful and historical spots!
Keep planning for when we can travel again! They’re both awesome countries :o)
I am very happy to read that people in the north appear more tolerant and that race and religion do not matter. That’s how it should be.
Exactly! I’m not religious myself, but I have met some amazing people on my travels from many races and religions. The funny thing is, we never talk about the differences, only what we have in common.
It truly does look like stepping into another century! What an epic adventure!
Yes. It was pretty amazing.
All these sites are so fascinating. A visit to these places is like taking a walk into the chapters of history.
Northern Israel sounds like a really fun area to explore, but goodness – you were lucky that you didn’t get heat stroke! Walking so far in 40C heat is madness! I hope you were okay!! I like the look of this, but only if I started right at sunrise to avoid the hottest part of the day!
p.s. I had no idea that Sea of Galilee was a lake! How tall is the mountain/hill if the top part is only 25m above sea level? Does it start much lower than sea level?
I did get a pretty mad sunburn on a small strip on the back of my neck. But I’m used to hot temperatures so they dont affect me too much.
The Sea of Gallilee is a couple of hundred meters below sea level.
That’s so interesting that Sea of Galilee is actually a lake. I’d love to visit and see Nazareth’s old town after hearing all the stories about it!
Nazareth is beautiful!
I’m not a religious person but even so, seeing and experiencing these sites sounds life changing!
Yes, it’s awesome to see things you’ve heard about all your life.
I love visiting old sites like these, not only is the history fascinating but the photos can be amazing. I do feel uncomfortable though as I’m not a religious person so I feel like I’m not allowed to be there
I’m not religious either, but I am curious. While most people that do rock up are there do so due to the religious aspect, it’s definitely not a requirement.
Really fascinating to learn about the differences between the north and the south of Israel. The Jesus Trail looks like quite a long hike; I don’t think I would be willing to do the whole thing either, but it’s good to know that it can be done in sections and you can still get a sense of the history as well as the nature of the area. I would be interested to see the towns along the Sea of Galilee, though!