Jabal Al-Kabeer reserve

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  • Habitat: Semi –steppe batha

    Ecozone: Central highlands

    Area handed over: 9,500 dunums

    IUCN criteria: IV -Managed Reserve 

    Land owner: Government

    Governorate: Nablus Governorate

    North Palestine

    Phytogeographical Regions: Mediterranean Sea

    Rainfall: 300-500 mm

    Soil: Terra Rossa, Rendzina

    Nearby village: Azmout, Albathan, Alnasarieh, Alaqrabanieh

     

     

While traveling through Bathan Valley to the northeast of Nablus, and when you look up to the opposite left side, you will see a mighty mountain that contains distinctive geographic topography - This mountain is called "Jabal AlKabeer".
 Jabal AlKabeer is a nature reserve which is part of the lands of Azmut village, located northeast of Nablus. It is also known as Shaikh Bilal Ibn Rabah Mountain, in reference to the religious shrine that exists there, as well as Azmut Mountain Nature Reserve.

Jabal AlKabeer Nature Reserve is located 460m above sea level on the lands of Azmut village, between a mountain plateau and flat land.

It oversees the cliffs of Bathan village (also known as the Rock Downhill), the Jordan Valley, and Ajloun Mountains in Jordan. This gives the area its distinctive features: the climate of the valley and the mountainous area with many slopes.

The visitors reach the beginning of the reserve by passing through a bumpy road. The Palestinian Authority owns 9 thousand dunams from the total 23 thousand dunams of the reserve's area. The Israelis' control over large parts of the reserve as well as the establishment of the settlement Elon Moreh constitutes an obstacle to the protection of the reserve and furthermore results in the decrease of its distinctive natural resources.

In case the visitor wants to get some rest and to renew his energy during the trip, he should look out for some thyme. This  plant is one of the many plants growing in the reserve and very rich in its aromatic fragrance . What's more, the existence of such plants proves that the reserve is affected by the Mediterranean climate.

One bird that is very characteristic for the reserve is the laughing dove. It is known for its beautiful dark red-brown color and feeds on seeds and ants during the time of reproduction.  Visitors can also see the common kestrel flying above the reserve, a Palestinian endangered middle-sized bird which was recorded in the reserve by bird experts in 2015. The reserve is also the habitat of a variety of other birds. Moreover, during the past year, the Palestine Viper snake as one of the most poisonous snakes was recorded to be living inside the reserve.

During the trip of about 6-7km length in the reserve, the visitor will face difficulty in going down from the upper part to  600m long lower part in the cliffs of Bathan Valley.

However, upon reaching the end of the reserve, the visitor will be able to enjoy the reserve's beauty as a variety of different plants are blossoming on both sides of the path. Particularly striking is also one big tree with a trunk with many branches at the end of the trip. This tree is around 2 to 4 meters high and is called "Alsidr – Buckthorn". Any visitor passing through this ending point will not be able to resist looking upward to contemplate on the mountain that rises in front of him and forms a beautiful sight for visitors.

Nedal Sawalmeh 0598222466

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