Israel · Northern District · Nazareth
Kaukab Abu al-Hija, Nazareth — Area Guide & Where to Stay
Kaukab Abu al-Hija is an Arab Muslim village on Road 784 in the Lower Galilee, between Shefa-'Amr and Karmiel and north of Kafr Manda.
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Where to stay in Kaukab Abu al-Hija
Where you base yourself shapes the visit — here's the character of each area.
Road 784 runs through Kaukab without passing a hotel. Travellers who want these Lower Galilee hills for a base book instead in Karmiel to the east or Shefa-'Amr to the west, both of them on the same road and both a short drive from the village. Nazareth holds the hotels, well south of the ridge. A car earns its keep on this stretch, with Jotapata and the Monkey Forest both reachable from the same road that carries the village.
Few places to stay in Kaukab Abu al-Hija — most visitors book in Nazareth nearby.
About Kaukab Abu al-Hija
What are the main landmarks in Kaukab Abu al-Hija?
Jotapata and the Monkey Forest are the two named sites in the hills around Kaukab. Jotapata is an ancient Galilean site, a hill name rather than a street address, lying off the run of Road 784 that links Shefa-'Amr with Karmiel. The Monkey Forest lies in the same upland.
Neither stands inside Kaukab itself. Both give the drive out from Nazareth a destination beyond the ridge road itself.
What is the history of Kaukab Abu al-Hija?
Kaukab carries a family's name. Kaukab was under the control of the Abu al-Hija family of the Galilee, and that hold lasted long enough for the family name to fasten to the village, which is why the full form is Kaukab Abu al-Hija and the Arabic reads كوكب أبو الهيجا. Jotapata belongs to an earlier age of the same hills, an ancient Galilean site a short way off the Road 784 line.
The village keeps its own local council in the Northern District, a frame drawn long after either name.
Where is Kaukab Abu al-Hija?
The village occupies hill country north of Kafr Manda and north-west of Nazareth, with Jotapata and the Monkey Forest in the same upland.
Common questions
What is the best area to stay in Kaukab Abu al-Hija?
Nazareth: pairing a city bed with day runs out to Jotapata and the Monkey Forest.
Updated September 2026