The Sea of Galilee is really a freshwater lake, about 21 km long and lying some 210 meters below sea level. Israelis call it the Kinneret, possibly because its shape resembles a harp (kinnor). For Christians it is the landscape of Jesus's ministry: most of his miracles and teachings happened within a short walk of its northern shore.
Start at Capernaum, "the town of Jesus", with the ruins of a white limestone synagogue built over an older one and the modern church above the House of St. Peter. A few minutes away, Tabgha holds the Church of the Multiplication, with its famous mosaic of loaves and fishes, and the small Church of the Primacy of St. Peter on the water's edge. Above them, the Mount of Beatitudes looks down on the lake where the Sermon on the Mount is remembered.
At Kibbutz Ginosar you can see the "Jesus Boat", a fishing boat from the first century found in the mud during a drought in 1986. It gives a very real sense of the boats the disciples used. Further south, Yardenit on the Jordan River welcomes pilgrims for baptism in white robes.
For lunch, order St. Peter's fish (tilapia) grilled whole by the lake, then take a short boat ride if the weather is calm. Tiberias, the city on the western shore, is also one of Judaism's four holy cities and has the tomb of Maimonides.
See our Christian Nazareth & Sea of Galilee tour for a full day built around these sites.
Keep reading
- Holy LandThe Holy Land: A Pilgrim's MapGalilee, Jerusalem and the desert, arranged the way pilgrims actually travel.
- Holy LandThe Dead Sea: Floating at the Lowest Place on EarthWhy you float, where to swim, and how to combine it with Masada, Ein Gedi and Qumran.
- JerusalemHoly JerusalemThe four quarters of the Old City, the holy sites, and the modern city that surrounds them.