Jacuzzi included
Photo: Sasha Alkov, PR
Looks like tent, feels like hotel
If stone houses and wood cabins do not excite you anymore, you are invited to try a yurt in the Indian Village
If for some reason you decided to hike for three-four hours on the amazing flowering, watery, yet slightly exhausting trail of Nahal El Al, it would be nice if there would be a pampering Jacuzzi waiting for you at the end of its rocky steep ascent. You can arrange this. All you need to do is stay at the new yurts for couples at the Waterfall Campsite of the Indian Village.
Whoever has heard the name or visited here will definitely be thinking of the Indian teepees that have been at the campsite for the past ten years. But the yurts are new upgraded tents, and when you peek into one of them you will definitely not think about sleeping bags and camping in nature.
Maybe it is the parquet floor, or the large space of the round interior, maybe it is the double beds, the spa robes next to them, or the air-conditioning or LCD televisions. It has all the little extras that will cause a couple to be in a tent, but feel like they are in a hotel.
The yurt site is made up of three large tents, which are spacious and intimate for a couple, and one other tent that has a large Jacuzzi overlooking the wadi and which serves the guests of all three tents.
In each tent you will find a kitchenette (refrigerator, sink, kettle, tea, coffee, two types of soft drink, silverware, plates, but no stove or microwave) and each tent has an adjoining wooden structure that has a bathroom and shower, which slightly lessons the pampering feeling of the tent, because at night, when you have to go to the bathroom you have to get dressed and go outside.
How to fight hunger?
The Indian Village is situated at the end of the walking trail of Nahal El Al, in the midst of the most beautiful scenery and full of the animal and plant life of the Golan. The main entrance to the village is through the nearby community of “Avnei Eitan”, which is a religious settlement. Once Shabbat starts there is a bypass road that lets you leave, but in the winter the road can be closed to private vehicles. As such, in the winter there can be a problem if you want to leave the site on Shabbat.
But why would you want to leave the scenery, the Jacuzzi, the air and the quiet? In order to eat something. The site only offers breakfast, and if you do not plan your meals ahead of time you will have to leave and find a restaurant in the area. You can barbecue there, but as previously noted there is no microwave or stove, and the small kitchenette in the tent is not suited to prepare meals.
However, in the morning, exactly when we ordered it, waiting for us outside our tent - together with the blossoming scent, amazing scenery and infinite air - was a picnic table set with a rich and varied breakfast, including various types of hard and soft cheeses, fresh whole grain bread, jachnun, and different salads.
Couples also have the option of ordering a masseur to their room to complete the atmosphere with a variety of treatments: Reflexology, massage, hot stones, Indian massage, acupuncture and others. Those who observe Shabbat can enjoy a quiet Shabbat, a walking tour in the stream and the religious services in the community. In the distance of a short ride you can reach the Kinneret, Yehudiya stream, Zavitan stream, Hamat Gader and other Golan attractions.
If modern tents are not your thing, the Indian Village also provides two wooden cabins with seven beds in separate rooms, a living room, dining room, equipped kitchenette, shower, bathroom, bathtub, cable TV, and a wide open picnic area outside the cabin.
Too bad the bathroom is outside
If you are looking for the real thing, there are also large, wide tents, called teepees, that are equipped with just rugs and mattresses (for an additional NIS 15 you can get sheets, pillows and blankets). Outside the teepees, there are rooms that each have a shower and private bathroom.
The teepees are suitable for large groups and companies. On the teepee site there is a refrigerator, freezer, hot and cold drinking water, and next to each teepee there is a picnic table and barbecue grill. Meals can be ordered for large groups.
The Indian Village, Moshav Avnei Eitan, Ramat Hagolan, tel: 972-4-676-2151. Price per couple in a yurt is NIS 500 including breakfast. Price per person in a teepee is NIS 80.
