Rosh Hanikra
About Rosh Hanikra
Rosh Hanikra is a glorious towering cliff dotted with wave-sculptured grottoes, located at the most north-western corner of Israel near the border with Lebanon.
Cable Car
The grottoes were once only available to divers but thanks to the installation of the world’s shortest and steepest cable car, anyone can come and see the turquoise waters of these natural caves, flushing in and out of the open sea. The cable car takes visitors 70m down at a 60° angle. The view from the cable car is magnificent.
Railway Tunnel
In the 1940s, a section of the Cairo-Istanbul railroad was paved through Rosh Hanikra connecting Israel to Europe until 1948. Today, the rail tunnel serves as the place of an audio-visual presentation that tells the story of the grottoes and the history of the Haifa-Beirut railway.
Grottoes
The grottoes are marine caves, created by sea activity on the white chalk rock. They branch off in various directions with some interconnecting segments. The waves of the Mediterranean Sea hit the cliffs, send up spouts of sea spray and create a thunderous crash that reverberates throughout the cliffs and echoes in the grottoes.
Interesting Facts
- Rosh Hanikra means “Head of the Grotto” in Hebrew.
- Rosh Hanikra with its underwater caves offers a unique experience for divers. The maximum depth is 7m but the penetration of light into the underwater caves and grottoes create a phenomenal diving experience.
- Above Rosh Hanikra is the border gate on the Israel-Lebanon border with a sign pointing to Beirut. A few kilometres north is the Naqoura base of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon which has been patrolling the border since 1978.
