Tel Yodfat National Park (Jotapata) – Visitors Guide

Tel Yodfat and Mount Atzmon offer lovely loop tracks through the Hellenistic city of Jotapata and the surrounding mountains.

Map

Tel Yodfat National Park is located near the modern Moshav Yodfat in Lower Galilee. And if you have been following my blog for a while, you will remember our previous visit to the town. On that occasion, we visited Monkey Forest in Yodfat.

Directions for drivers: Link to Waze and Link to Google Maps
Directions for public transport: Link to Moovit

Interactive map of the area:

Tracks

Near the entrance to the Tel, you can find the following map.

Note: You can click on the map to enlarge it.

On the map above, you can see three hiking tracks.

• The red path is the shortest hike. It takes about fifteen minutes and is also an accessible trail.
• The green trail takes about an hour. And it leads you through most of the points of interest on top of the Tel.
• The black pathway is the longest of the three. It adds several points of interest to the green trail and takes about an hour and a half.

Note: the name of this national park includes the word Tel. Tel is a hill created by many generations living and rebuilding in the same spot. You can find additional information at Tel Megiddo National Park.

While we are in this section, I want to show a trail map of this area. And if you want to learn more about this map and other digital resources, check out Israel Hiking Maps.

Note: this is a photo from our trail map. We had it with us since we wanted to make a combined hike of Tel Yodfat and Mount Atzmon.

Here is an interactive map from israelhiking.osm.org.il, where the Tel Yodfat and Mount Atzmon track is marked. The marked trail length is 4.7 km, including a total climb of 266 meters.

Directions

If you are reaching by car, enter “Tel Yodfat National Park” into Waze or Google Maps, and it will take you to the free parking near the Tel.

The road to Tel Yodfat is the same as Yodfat itself, up to where you leave road #7955 and turn to the city. Soon after the #7955 turn, you will see a turn to the left with the sign to the Tel. Following that dirt road for five minutes will lead you to the Tel.

If you use public transport, you can take a bus to Yodfat junction (#262, #242, and others). But Yodfat junction is not that close, and the distance to the National Park is slightly more than three kilometers. Here is already a preset link to Moovit. Just enter your starting point, and you will get the updated directions.

Opening Hours

It is an open national park. There is no entrance fee. And you can visit it whenever you like. But, since there is no artificial light, you should visit only during the daytime.

Entrance Fee

Free.

When to Visit Tel Yodfat National Park?

As I wrote in Events and Festivals By Season, Spring is the best time for a visit. Also, remember that there is almost no shade along the trails. Thus, wear hats, use sunscreen, and take plenty of water.

Basic Info

The Hellenistic city of Jotapata stood on this hill during the Second Temple period. The Hasmonean dynasty kings conquered it in the late second century BCE, and its name was changed to Yodfat. Josephus Flavius fortified the city during the Great Revolt against the Romans, and in 67 CE, it fell to the Romans after a fierce battle.

Source: sign

History

Here is a historical extract from Wikipedia.

Jotapata

Ancient Yodfat (Jotapata), situated to the southeast of the modern moshav, is mentioned in the Mishna as a fortified Jewish village dating from the time of Joshua, corresponding with the Iron Age. However, archaeological explorations of the site have thus far revealed a modest village established sometime during the Hellenistic period, between the 4th and 3rd centuries BCE. As the Hasmonean kings extended their influence into the Galilee during the last decades of the 2nd century BCE, a change of population occurred at Yodfat, and Jews populated the village.

According to the Mishnah, the town of Yodfat was encompassed by a wall before the Israelite conquest of Canaan under Joshua.

Greeks called it Iotapata.

Classic era

By the first century CE, Yodfat had expanded to encompass 50 dunams (13 acres). Its siege and subsequent destruction in 67 CE are described in Josephus Flavius’ The Wars of the Jews, his chronicle of the Great Jewish Revolt against the Romans. Led by future emperor Vespasian, three Roman legions — Legio V Macedonica, X Fretensis, and XV Apollinaris — besieged Yodfat, meeting strong Jewish resistance. After 47 days, the city fell by treachery, and Josephus describes the death of 40,000 Jews and the enslavement of 1,200 women and children. Yodfat was razed and burnt on the first of the Hebrew month of Tammuz. While a few dozen remaining fighters committed suicide, Josephus managed to survive this pact and was captured by the Romans.

After its capture by the Romans, Yodfat was re-established at a nearby site by refugees from Jerusalem, among them the priestly family of Miyamin. This town is mentioned in the Talmud as the home of Rabbi Menachem of Jotapata (Zev. 110b). It flourished for another 300 years before being destroyed once again. After that, the village lay in ruins until 1960.

Modern times

Yodfat was re-established in 1960 by graduates of the Hebrew Reali School of Haifa. It is currently a Jewish agricultural community, located about 1 km north-west of the ancient ruins.

The modern village was built by traditional Jews, seeking to preserve traditional values parallel to agricultural work. At first, the town was an observation site of the JNF, while its inhabitants were mostly the JNF employees. Later, the village became an agricultural society, with most of its residents working the nearby lands. By the 1990s, the village turned into a more massive communal center, with a wider variety of professions for its residents. Today it includes 200 families.

And now, let’s start climbing the Tel using the green trail (the photo above).

As we hiked, we saw many informational signs. There are also many metal signs with quotes from the book “The Wars of the Jews 3” by Yosef ben Matityahu, also known by his later name Titus Flavius Josephus. Thus, let’s talk about him.

Flavius Josephus – Yosef ben Matityahu

During the First Jewish – Roman War, Yosef ben Matityahu was the head of Jewish forces in Galilee. After a 47-day siege, Jotapata fell, and Yosef ben Matityahu became enslaved.

After receiving freedom from the Emperor, Josephus Josephus assumed the emperor’s family name. Thus, he is also known as Josephus Flavius.

Josephus joined the Roman legions and recorded Jewish history. From his books, we know a lot about the Great Revolt. His books include descriptions of the fall of Jerusalem, the siege of Masada, and, of course, Yodfat. Here is a summary from Wikipedia:

Titus Flavius Josephus, born Yosef ben Matityahu was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly descent and a mother who claimed royal ancestry.

He initially fought against the Romans during the First Jewish–Roman War as head of Jewish forces in Galilee, until surrendering in 67 CE to Roman forces led by Vespasian after the six-week siege of Jotapata. Josephus claimed the Jewish Messianic prophecies that initiated the First Roman-Jewish War referred to Vespasian becoming Emperor of Rome. In response, Vespasian decided to keep Josephus as a slave and presumably interpreter. After Vespasian became Emperor in 69 CE, he granted Josephus his freedom, at which time Josephus assumed the Emperor’s family name of Flavius.

Flavius Josephus fully defected to the Roman side and was granted Roman citizenship. He became an advisor and friend of Vespasian’s son Titus, serving as his translator when Titus led the Siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE. Since the siege proved ineffective at stopping the Jewish revolt, the city’s destruction and the looting and destruction of Herod’s Temple (Second Temple) soon followed.

Josephus recorded Jewish history, emphasizing the first century CE and the First Jewish–Roman War (66–70 CE), including the Siege of Masada. His most famous works were The Jewish War (c. 75) and Antiquities of the Jews (c. 94). The Jewish War recounts the Jewish revolt against Roman occupation. Antiquities of the Jews recount the world’s history from a Jewish perspective for an ostensibly Greek and Roman audience. These works provide valuable insight into first-century Judaism and Early Christianity’s background, although not explicitly mentioned by Josephus. Josephus’ works are the chief source next to the Bible for ancient Palestine’s history and antiquity.

Siege of Jotapata

As we climbed to Tel Yodfat, we could see the direction from which the Romans attacked.

The Siege of Yodfat was a 47-day siege by Roman forces of the Jewish town of Yodfat, which took place in 67 CE, during the Great Revolt. Led by Roman General Vespasian and his son Titus, both future emperors, the siege ended with the sacking of the town, the deaths of most of its inhabitants, and the enslavement of the rest. It was the second bloodiest battle of the revolt, surpassed only by the Siege of Jerusalem, and the longest except for Jerusalem and Masada. The siege was chronicled by Josephus, who had personally commanded the Jewish forces at Yodfat and was subsequently captured by the Romans.

Source: Wikipedia

We will continue along the green trail to point of interest #2, the casemate wall, and from there, we will have a good overview of the area.