Cafarlet Fortress

HaBonim, Israel, Israel

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Cafarlet Fortress, also known as HaBonim Fortress, is a small medieval fortress located inside the moshav of HaBonim in northern Israel, on a kurkar (sandstone) ridge along the Carmel coast about 850 meters east of the sea and 30 meters above the surrounding plain.

The site was first developed in the 8th–9th century as an Early Muslim ribat (frontier fortress) of the Roman castrum type, built to guard against Byzantine attacks, and was later heavily modified and reused by the Crusaders, who expanded it into a square castle with rounded watchtowers and a central courtyard.

In the 12th and 13th centuries Cafarlet was part of the Principality of Caesarea, given to the Hospitallers in 1213, bought by the Templars in 1232, captured by the Muslims in 1265, briefly recaptured by the Latins, and finally abandoned in 1291 when the Crusader era ended, after which it was destroyed by the Mamluks and later served as a forward position for the Carmeli Brigade during the 1948 war. 

The fortress is unusual for Israel because it retains round guard towers typical of European castles, and today its outer walls, main gate, towers, many interior rooms and a water cistern are still visible, though the site is not part of a national park and is maintained in a modest, semi‑wild state.

Visitors can reach it by following the coastal road (Route 2) north from Tel Aviv, turning toward HaBonim, driving into the moshav, and walking down a short path to the hill where the ruins stand, and the site is open to the public with visiting hours and a small fee, offering a quiet and off‑the‑main‑tour‑route example of early Muslim and Crusader military architecture on the Carmel coast.