Mount Bental, Dormant volcano in Golan Heights, Israel.

Mount Bental is a dormant scoria cone in the northeastern Golan Heights, reaching 1,171 meters above sea level. Its summit is a broad, slightly domed ridge with a car trail, the Coffee Anan restaurant, and a visitor center built on a former Syrian stronghold. The mountain is covered with Quercus calliprinos oaks, and its lower slopes show a lava flow that extends about 2 km west.

Mount Bental is a scoria cone formed about 140,000 years ago, when eruptions built an ash cone some 50 metres higher than today's summit. Around 100,000 years ago magma that could not break through the top erupted from the western flank; the north-western wall collapsed and slid over the lava, giving the mountain its horseshoe shape. The Bental flow ran about 2 km east of Road 9881. In 1972 Syrian shelling pushed Kibbutz Merom Golan from Quneitra to the foot of the mountain.

The Hebrew name Bental, "son of dew", is a loan translation from the Arabic name of neighbouring Mount Avital, Tel Abu Nada, "father of dew". The Arabic name of Mount Bental itself, Tal al-Gharam, means "mound of lust" and is said to come from its horseshoe-shaped, rounded form. On the summit stands the Coffee Anan restaurant, a pun on the Hebrew word anan, "cloud", and the name of former UN secretary Kofi Annan.

You can reach the summit by car or hike up marked trails, depending on your time and fitness level. Early morning or late afternoon visits offer the most comfortable conditions on the exposed slopes.

The mountain formed when magma erupted from an adjacent volcanic source, creating a separate geological formation. This rare occurrence allows visitors to observe two connected volcanic cones side by side and compare their different erosion patterns.