Bahai Gardens in Acre (Akko) – Visitors Guide

Bahai Gardens in Acre is where the Prophet-Founder resided and is the most sacred site of the Bahai religion.

Notes:

• You can find additional details about this ancient city in my guide about Acre.
• This post will not go into the Bahai faith and background information. If you are interested in learning more, check out my post about Bahai Gardens in Haifa.
• Since my camera was broken during this visit, I photographed it using my old smartphone. Thus the photos in this post are worse than usual.

Map

Bahai Gardens are located in the Northern part of Acre. Near the northern entrance to the city from road #4.

Directions for drivers: Link to Waze and Link to Google Maps
Directions for public transport: Link to Moovit

Interactive map of the area:

Directions

If you are driving, enter “Bahai Gardens Acre” into Waze, and it will take you there. And there are plenty of free parking spaces near the entrance.

And if you are using public transport, here is the link to Moovit. I already preset it to give directions from Hospitaller Fortress to Bahai Gardens in Acre. And if you are starting from another point, set it, and you will get the updated directions.

Opening Hours

Thursday – Monday: 09:00 – 16:00.
The Shrine of Bahaullah is open Thursday – Monday: 09:00 – 12:00.

Tuesday and Wednesday – closed

Here is the map with the opening hours:

In any case, before visiting, I would recommend rechecking the opening hours at the official site.

Tours

There are free walking tours in Hebrew. These tours take place on Saturdays at 10:30 and 12:00. Here is a photo of the relevant sign.

Note: tour times can change. Hence recheck the official site before visiting.

Dress Code

Since this is a religious site, you must wear clothes covering your shoulders and reaching your knees.

Contact Information

Phone: 04-8313131
Email: ganbahai@bwc.org

The Gardens

The Bahá’í Gardens at Bahjí in ‘Akko form a wide circle surrounding the historic mansion where Bahá’u’lláh, the Prophet-Founder of the Bahá’í Faith, resided during the final years of His life and the shrine where His remains were laid to rest.

The approach to the circular garden is a long, straight path framed with cypress trees and informal plantings. As you walk, the silence seems to grow in intensity. Entering the heart of the site is like arriving in a world of peace and serenity, a wall-less sanctuary that is protected without being enclosed. Here the formal, precise gardening flows around historic buildings and natural elements that include a centuries-old sycamore-fig tree and the remains of an ancient olive grove.

Source: official site

And now, after covering the basics, let’s visit the gardens.

As you enter the gardens, you will go under this arch:

Most of the terraces go along a straight alley.

Also, just after the entrance arch, to the right, you can find restrooms.

It took us about ten minutes to go along the garden alley. And in the end, you will reach the Shrine of Bahaullah.

Shrine of Bahaullah

The entrance to the shrine is allowed only with a local guide and in small groups. Thus as we approached the gate, the security man asked us if we wanted to enter. After giving a positive answer, he asked us to wait.

After about ten minutes (we waited till the previous group exited the shrine), the security man allowed us to enter and asked us to follow the path to the entrance. And near the entrance volunteer guide was waiting for us.

Note: everything is free at the Bahai Gardens. Both the entrance and the guide.

If you follow the path in the photo above, you will see the Shrine of Bahaullah. And the larger white building on the left is the Mansion of Bahá’u’lláh.

On-site, you will see many signs (birds of prey, lions, stars, flowers, and so on). But none of them have symbolic importance in the Bahai religion. They are simply decorations.

Near the entrance to the shrine, a guide was waiting for us.

He gave us a short explanation in English about the Bahai religion and this site. And answered our questions.

Then he asked us to take our shoes off, and we entered the shrine. In the shrine, you are not allowed to talk or take pictures.

The shrine resembles a building with a prominent central room and many surrounding small rooms. The small rooms are used for meditation. And since it is an active site, you are asked not to disturb the prayers.

After the short visit to the Shrine of Bahaullah, the tour ended. And our guide asked us to head back to the security stand.

And from there, we headed back. The arch under which you pass as you enter the gardens has stairs. We used them to climb to the top level. And here is the photo from there:

And here we are inside the arch (on the ground level).

The visit took us about an hour.

Bahai Gardens in Haifa vs Akko

I have visited these gardens and the Bahai Gardens in Haifa many times. But if you have time to visit only one of those places, which one should it be?

I will divide my answer into two parts. The gardens in Acre are the most sacred site in the Bahai religion. Thus from a religious standpoint, this site is more important. But from an aesthetical perspective, Bahai Gardens in Haifa are more impressive. Some even call them the hanging gardens of Babylon. Hence, most tourists who do not follow the Bahai religion choose the gardens in Haifa. Hopefully, since you can see many photos from both gardens on my blog, it will be easier to decide.

Summary

The Bahai Gardens in Acre (like the ones in Haifa) are beautiful and peaceful. And if you have the time, consider combining a visit to Acre and the gardens. The only downside is their location. They are not close to the old city of Acre, and you will need transportation (see the directions section for additional details).

Have you ever visited the Bahai Gardens in Acre? Let us know in the comments below.

That’s all for today, and I’ll see you in future travels!

Stay Tuned!

Additional Resources

Here are several resources that I created to help travelers:

• Trip Planner with Attractions and Itineraries is the page that will help you create your perfect travel route.
• What is the Best Time to visit Israel? To answer this question, we will consider the weather, prices, holidays, festivals, and more.
• Information and Tips for Tourists to Israel will answer the most common questions tourists have about Israel (including safety, passports, weather, currency, tipping, electricity, and much more).
• Israel National Parks and Nature Reserves include a complete list, top ten, map, tickets (Israel Pass, Matmon, combo), and campsites.
• If you are looking for things to do, here are the pages for Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Sea Of Galilee, Akko (Acre), Eilat, Nazareth, Safed (Tzfat), and Makhtesh Ramon.