Visit to Nahal Teninim (Crocodile Stream) near Caesarea

Nachal Teninim (Crocodile stream) is a wonderful national nature reserve and is home to an amazing Roman Dam and Aqueduct that brought fresh water to Caesarea.

The river is named for the Nile crocodiles that inhabited the nearby Kebara swamps until the early 20th century. The last crocodile was hunted in 1912.

I had a great time strolling through nature.

Around every corner was a new surprise… either the ancient rock quarry, a byzantine flour mill, waterfalls, flocks of sheep or the amazing ancient dam and aqueduct.

The dam from the Late Roman-Byzantine period created an approximately 6,000 dunam (1,500 acre) lake. The region’s ancient inhabitants built the dam to raise by 3 meters the level of the Taninim Stream, which flows at 3 meters above sea level, so it could be channeled to Caesarea via an aqueduct .

The abundance of water led to the construction of water-operated flour mills in the Byzantine and Ottoman periods. A Byzantine-era vertical paddlewheel was found there of a type otherwise known in this country only from the Crusader period.

The dense undergrowth and reeds along Nahal Taninim are home to many different birds, among them waterside warblers and other songbirds.

It’s just an hour away from Galilee Green on Highway 4 just south of Zichron Yaakov.

Great to combine with a trip to the Carmel Caves or Zichron Yaakov itself.