Line © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), checked by Global Adventurer.
The walk
From the Little Switzerland (שוויצריה הקטנה) car park in Carmel Park follow the red marks west and down through pine and evergreen oak woods, through a gate left from an old fence, to a view of the cliffs of Nahal Kelah and their famous chimney, a half-pipe hollow worn into the rock. Carry on down to the stone bridge over the stream, built for the road to Beit Oren in the late 1930s. Come back a few steps and climb the green trail up the little Hidden Gully to the car park. Finish by following the blue east and the short black out to Mitzpor HaTsuk, the cliff lookout over Nahal Kelah, and back.
It is 2.2 km round with 65 m of ascent; allow about half an hour. The grade is Easy: woodland paths with rock steps, an easy family walk.
INPA warns that the rock is slippery, so skip the walk on rainy days and just after rain. Reaching the inside of the chimney means a scramble up a faint side path: stay on the trail. Fires are forbidden, and dogs must be on a lead and muzzled.
Carmel Park is free and open every day. The car park is on a side road off Route 672 near the University of Haifa and the Hai-Bar Carmel reserve; there is no convenient bus.
Route drawn by Global Adventurer along OpenStreetMap paths (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), with figures worked out from it. Check the forecast and the ground on the day: paths change.
Good to know
- The woods, cliffs and mild weather of the northern Carmel round upper Nahal Kelah earned it the nickname Little Switzerland
- A tsnir, or chimney, is a half-pipe hollow worn into a cliff; the one in Nahal Kelah has become a symbol of the Carmel
- The stone bridge carried the road to the isolated settlements of Beit Oren and Ya'arot HaCarmel in the late 1930s
- Persian fallow deer bred at the nearby Hai-Bar Carmel reserve have been released into the wild here
Getting there
Start: Little Switzerland car park, Carmel Park. 32.74574, 35.02592
Directions to the start
Google Maps Apple Maps Waze Moovit
Waze drives you to the car park; Moovit has the buses and trains to the start.
Places to stay nearby
Rooms in and around Little Switzerland car park: Booking.com → Expedia → Hotels.com →
Affiliate links: if you book, Global Adventurer earns a small commission at no cost to you.
Paths change, and the weather decides the day. The line and figures come from OpenStreetMap and our own checks; take a map, check the forecast, and turn back if it isn't right.