Begin Park

Begin Park covers about 8,000 dunams on the western slopes of the Jerusalem mountains, south of Nahal Refaim. The old Jaffa-Jerusalem rail line runs on its historical route through the water channel. In the south, the park is bordered by Route 375 (in the area of Tzur Hadassah and Mevo Beitar). The park is characterized by mountains whose peaks rise to a height of more than 700m above sea level. Deep gorges split the mountains and lend the landscape a dramatic touch. The park includes man-made forests and natural groves, old agricultural terraces, ancient sites, recreation areas and scenic lookouts, orchards and small mountain springs whose waters were once collected in storage pools and then transported to plots of irrigated land. The main recreation areas in the park are the Bar Giora and Ein Kobi sites.
 
Bar Giora Recreation Area - the recreation area is next to the Bar Giora gate to the park, very close to the park entrance. It has picnic tables, drinking water, a children's playground and outdoor camping areas. The recreation area is accessible to people with special needs.
 
Directions: From the Bar Giora gate, near the fire station, about a km east of the entrance to Moshav Bar Giora (Route 386 near the Km 15 marker).
Ein Kobi Recreation Area - the recreation area has picnic tables and drinking water. The Kobi Spring flows next to It. It is one of the most beautiful water tunnels in the Jerusalem mountains, with its water flowing through an underground tunnel about 12m long to a large underground pool, covered by a stone structure. From this collection pool, the water continues to flow in a 17m-long tunnel to an outdoor reservoir from which the water used to be transferred through canals to irrigated plots.
 
Directions: Enter Begin Park from the entrance gate, which is located about 700 m east of the entrance to Mevo Beitar (Route 375 near the Km 8 marker). Drive about 1.5 km along the park road to reach the spring.
Ein Kobi recreation area at the Begin Park. Photograph: Yakov Shkolnik, KKL-JNF Photo Archive