A short account of the Sahne, given by your Israel & Jerusalem private tour guide

Sahne (in Arabic, “the warm one”) is a national park, which goes by the official name, Gan Hashlosha, a name that is rarely used. It is a very popular natural water park, and many people frequent it, especially during vacation times.


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A bit about the area

Sahne is located in the eastern part of the Jezreel Valley, not far from the city of Beit She’an. Millions of years ago, when the valley was created, the entire area sank due to tectonic breakage movements, which exposed the aquifer in various places in the form of many springs. Some of them are quite large. Ein Amal is one of the largest, supplying over 400,000 gallons of warm water (28 degrees C – 82 degrees F all year round) every hour. This is the water that feeds the pools.

Since the water has a bit of saltiness in it, it cannot be used for irrigation. However, after being diluted with fresh water, it is used for the park’s vegetation and pools. In the past, the water was also used for operating water mills, but since 1948, they are no longer in use. At present, only a part of one of the water mills is visible.

Sahne plays a role in ancient history because there exists the remains of an ancient town sitting atop the nearby tel that was inhabited from the second millennium BCE to the first millennium CE. The many finds from its excavations are presented in the museum on the tel.

What’s in the park?

The park was established in the 1950's in memory of three kibbutz members, who were killed by a mine explosion in 1938 (hence, the name, Gan Hashlosha – “the Park of the Three”). The nearby kibbutz – Nir David -- is named after one of the members. In addition to the one natural pool, two large pools were dug, and there is an artificial waterfall connecting them. Beautiful lawns, trees and vegetation were planted around the pools. The natural vegetation is maintained solely around the third original pool.

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