Cyclamen forest at Kochav Yair – Visitors Guide
Cyclamen Forest in Kochav Yair offers a lovely short trail suitable for families, filled with blooming flowers during the season.
Table of Contents
Map
Kochav Yair is located north of Kfar Saba and near Tira.
Directions for drivers: Link to Waze and Link to Google Maps
Directions for public transport: Link to Moovit
Interactive map of the area:
Entrance Fee
Free.
Opening Hours
You can visit at any time, but be sure to finish before dark, as there is no lighting.
Note: We visited on a Saturday morning, and as shown in the photos, there were many people present.
When to Visit?
Usually, the best time to see blooming flowers is February and March. That is why Festival Darom Adom takes place in February. But in 2026, flowers started blooming early. We visited in the middle of January, and there were many flowers.
Parking
You can park for free on nearby streets.
At Cyclamen Forest
The entrance to the forest is from within the city.
As you can see from the signs at the entrance, lighting fires or having picnics inside the forest is forbidden.
The forest is not large, and the length of the loop trail within it is 600 meters. There is also a short, accessible trail, about fifty meters long.
Here are several photos from the forest:
Since the trail is short, we extended it by climbing to the nearby viewpoint. Here is an interactive map from israelhiking.osm.org.il where our trail is marked:
| Description | Stratring Point | Ending Point | Distance (km) | Total climb and descent (meters) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loop trail (including the forest, viewpoint and nearby fields) | Entrance to the Cyclamen forest | Entrance to the Cyclamen forest | 1.5 | 65 |
Note: You can easily modify our trail to make it shorter or longer.
Mitzpe HaAhim
Since the trail was short, we decided to climb the nearby viewpoint.
Here are several photos from the climb and the viewpoint:
While we were at the viewpoint, we noticed that many people were heading down to the fields below.
In the area below, we saw many blooming anemones, and many people had picnics there. So we made a stroll there is headed to the car.
Here are several photos:
Summary
This whole hike took a little more than an hour. It was an easy and lovely hike. But since it was short, I recommend combining it with other nearby attractions (see the interactive map above). We combined our visit with the temporary nearby artist market.
If you love flowers and nature, I will mention one of my favorite nearby trails: the wildflowers trail at Rosh HaAyin Forest.
Have you visited the Cyclamen forest at Kochav Yair? Tell us in the comments below about your experience.
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.
