Ein Hemed National Park – Visitors Guide

Ein Hemed (Aqua Bella) by Jerusalem is a lovely place for a family visit. It has barbecue areas, greenery, water, and archeology.

Many people call this park as the perfect place for a picnic. In addition, many photographers visit this park during autumn due to the foliage.

Map

Ein Hemed National Park is close to Castel, and both are near Jerusalem.

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

Interactive map of the area:

You will receive a brochure at the entrance with information about this park. Here is the map from the official booklet.

Note: you can click on the map to enlarge it.

Trail

The park map shows red loop trail markings. Its length is about 1.5 km, and walking slowly takes about one hour.

Opening Hours

Sunday – Thursday and Saturday: 8:00 – 17:00 (16:00 in winter).
Friday: 8:00 – 16:00 (15:00 in winter).
On holiday eves, usually 8:00 – 13:00.

Note: Since the pandemic, the Israel Nature and Parks Authority has started limiting the number of people in each park. Thus, reservations are recommended through the official site (you can find the link below).

Entrance Fee

Adult 24 NIS, child 10 NIS, and student 20 NIS. Free for National Parks annual subscribers.

If you visit several National Parks, consider purchasing a combo ticket. Additional information is available at National Parks and Nature Reserves.

Note: opening hours and ticket prices were updated in December 2024. In any case, recheck the official site before visiting.

Contact Information

Phone: 02-5342741
Email: gl.ein-hemed@npa.org.il

Campsite at Ein Hemed

There used to be a camping option at this national park. From what I understand, it is only available for big groups (use the contact information above). If you are interested, you can book the nearby Castel campsite.

Lighting Fire and Barbeque

Fire and barbeque are permitted in some parts of this National Park (close to the entrance). Just follow the signs.

Hiking at Ein Hemed

Ein Hemed National Park lies in the Nahal Kesalon riverbed. It has springs and the remains of a 12th-century Crusader castle. The park is also known by its Latin name, Aqua Bella.

Ein Hemed is not an extensive National Park. It takes only about five minutes to go from one end to another. As you enter this park, you will see many families with kids. There is a lot of greenery, water, shade, and a place for kids to run. Thus, many families come here for a picnic and relaxing time.

We arrived on a Saturday morning in September. September is usually not too hot, but it is before the rainy season. Thus, Ein Hemed Spring barely had any water.

The water in the pond was not clean, but there was another place where kids could splash in it. Thus, if you visit in the summer, bring swimsuits for the children.

The water route is almost completely dry.

Note: As you can see from the two photos above, October to November are usually the best times to visit (to see Autumn).

You rarely see autumn in Israel. Therefore, when I saw these leaves, I decided to make a small photo book for them 🙂

The Crusader Farmhouse

We walked along the water canal to the Crusader Farmhouse.

This farmhouse was built during the Crusader period (1140 – 1160). It is one of the buildings constructed along the road to Jerusalem, and members of the Hospitalier family owned it.

Look at the thickness of the walls:

In the inner courtyard. The second and the third floors.

We exited The Crusader Farmhouse and followed the sign (next to the bridge) to the lookout trail.

The lookout trail takes you a little into the mountain, but you do not see much because of the trees.

After about a five-minute walk, we returned to the parking lot (located near the entrance to Ein Hemed National Park). Since it was time for brunch, we had a small picnic.

Summary

Since that visit, we have been to Ein Hemed several times, usually after a half-day visit to Jerusalem. You can take food with you. This is the perfect place for a picnic.

That perfectly sums up Ein Hemed. It is a lovely shaded park with water and grass that allows kids to explore and have fun. Thus, it is the perfect place to have a family picnic near Jerusalem. Alternatively, you can combine a visit to this national park with nearby attractions for a half-day or a full-day trip. That is what we did on one of our visits. After having brunch at this national park, we continued to Castel.

Have you ever been to Ein Hemed National Park? Tell us in the comments below.

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

Stay Tuned!

For nearby attractions, browse the interactive map above or see Jerusalem.

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.