Hexagon Pool

 

The Hexagon Pool is a natural pool by the Meshushim River in the Yehudiya Forest Nature Reserve, the central Golan Heights. The pool, at the bottom of a canyon, is named after the shape of the hexagonal basalt columns that make up its walls. This geological formation was created by the slow cooling of layers of lava flows over a long period. When the lava solidified and cooled, it was split into polygonal shapes due to its contraction.

Geology

A cascade of water, such as a waterfall, created the pool. The walls are columns of basalt in angular formations that appear man-made. The columns reach a height of approximately 5 metres, and most have five or six sides. The diameter of each column is between 30 and 40 centimetres. Walls of basalt columns exist in other places in the Golan Heights, along the Meshushim (Hexagons) and Zavitan Rivers.

Hiking

The easiest access is 2.5 kilometres north of the community settlement of Had Nes on Route 888 where a junction leads to the Nature Reserve. From there a 30-minute downhill walk leads to the pool. Access to the pool is normally allowed. The water temperature rarely exceeds 18 °C, even in summer.

One of the best rewards of visiting the Golan is to experience the little known “Hexagon Pools” part of the  Meshushim Nature Reserve  in central Golan Heights. The pool it self can be found at the bottom of a  canyon. These pools feature hexagonal black basalt pillars that make up its walls caused by cooling of molten rock in the area long ago. It is the most perfect example of volcanic hexagons found on earth. The molecules of lava are round but When they cool and become solid they take a polygonal shape which is the closest to their round shape (doing so with the minimum energy loss possible).

If you would like to turn this visit into a longer hike, take the 3 kilometer circular stream trail. This trail, marked with blue trail markings, takes you deeper into the canyon, and requires climbing a 3 meter wall using the handholds in the rock. The trail then leads to the Meshushim pool, before returning along the pool trail.

The short Lookout Trail leading from the parking lot to the Meshushim Pool is at its most spectacular in the spring, when it reveals the wide-open, flat, green spaces of the Yehudiya Forest with its Mount Tabor oaks. This forest-park landscape is typical of the central Golan Heights. The Lookout Trail is wheelchair accessible.

One can see hundreds of hexagonal rock columns, caused by the slow cooling of molten rocks in some 3 million years.The columns reach a height of approximately 5 metres (16 ft), and most have five or six sides. The diameter of each column is between 30 and 40 centimetres.

The Hexagon Pool and the  Meshushim Nature Reserve are a part of the 16,500 acre spread Yehudiya Forest Nature Reserve in Golan Heights. The reserve appears to be quite large as eleven hiking trails are depicted in the official brochure, something you don’t find in a single nature reserve.

The easiest access is 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) north of the village of Had Nes on Route 888 where a junction leads to the Nature Reserve. From there a 30 minute downhill walk leads to the pool.