In 1967 Israel took over control on the Golan heights and later annexed this place. Today, the place is occupied by lots of IDF and UN forces – because the United Nations have created a buffer zone between Syria and the Golan heights. As Israel sees this region as a part of their country, you can easily drive into the Golan heights – without border control and even without noticing.
The only definite signal for having reached the Golan heights is the high military activity. Even in Qatsrin, not far away from the Sea of Galilee I had the feeling, that one-third of all vehicles belong to the IDF and one-third to the UN. Going further towards Lebanon (visiting the fortress of Nimrod or the skiing areas) or closer to the UN zone and Syria looked promising, but as my embassy recommended to omit it, I left these areas out.
The Golan heights are a dry mountainous region with a very interesting landscape. Mount Hermon in the north, at the border between Lebanon and Syria is more than 2800 meters high and therefore – pretty strange for this region of the world – offering winter sport activities.
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