Utopia Orchid Park, Kibbutz Bahan – Visitors Guide

Utopia Orchid Park at Kibbutz Bahan is a unique botanical garden. You can visit the tropical rainforest, animal area, and other attractions.

Map

Utopia Orchid Park is at the entrance to Kibbutz Bahan. Use the links below to reach this location. Moreover, there is plenty of free parking near the entrance.

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

Interactive map of the area:

Opening Hours

Sunday – Thursday, Saturday, and Holidays: 9:00-17:00
Fridays and Holiday eves: 9:00-15:00

Note: The last entrance is allowed 1.5 hours before closure.

Entrance Fee

Child (2 – 12) – 59 NIS
Adult (12+) – 69 NIS

Notes:

• Children under the age of two enter for free.
• Besides the regular entrance, you can purchase a picnic entrance (regular entry + picnic basket).

You can buy the tickets at the official site.

Coupons and Discounts

• Due to the situation, children under 12 enter for free (up to two children per adult). You must purchase tickets through the official site to take advantage of this offer.
• American Express credit card owners can purchase two adult tickets 1+1 for 69 NIS (and 650 points).

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

Contact Information

Official website: www.utopiapark.co.il
Email: utopia@utopiapark.co.il
Phone: 09-8782191

The Entrance

When we arrived Saturday morning, the closest parking lot was already full. Thus, we were directed to a nearby free parking lot (probably 200 meters from the entrance).

Here are several photos from the entrance:

But only after taking several steps back did we see the writing. It says Utopia in both Hebrew and English.

After purchasing the tickets, we went into the Tropical Rain Forest.

Tropical Rain Forest

Tropical Rain Forest is a two-level, air-conditioned building with plenty of water and several small waterfalls. They created a tropical ecosystem inside this building, the size of a basketball stadium.

Inside, you can find many different types of orchids. And near some plants, you can find explanation signs.

At the far end of this building, you can find Carnivorous Plants. I took the photo above from the second level. So we continued on the second level and returned to Carnivorous Plants later.

Here are several additional photos from the tropical rainforest building:

Carnivorous Plants

During our previous visit, there were short sessions where a guide talked about different types of Carnivorous Plants. These sessions took place every hour. And there was a guide at this place. My daughter did not have the patience, so we did not ask whether there were still such sessions.

There are different Carnivorous Plants. Here is an explanation of probably the most common ones.

Nepenthes drives insects by smell. Once they enter the pitcher, insects can not get out. They cannot hold onto the pitcher’s interior and fall into the water at the bottom of the pitcher. The insect’s movement stimulates Nepenthes’s Gastric Glands.

Drosera is one of the largest genera of carnivorous plants. It traps insects using sticky leaves and then turns the leaves up.

One more thing that I have not shown is a big walk-in cage. There were different birds (mostly the Phasianidae family, meaning chickens, quails, and so on).

We finished at the tropical rainforest building and headed outside.

Outside Area

There are two plant Mazes on the premises. There is a two-floor and regular maze (shown in the photo).

Musical Water Fountain

You can find the Musical Water Fountain in the center of the outside area.

The music starts every half hour, and the fountain starts working. The show lasts about 10-15 minutes and is nice if you do not expect much.

Animal Area

Musical Water Fountain is something new. Another thing that did not exist during our previous visit was the Animal Area.

In the animal area, we mainly saw goats. And they lived in colorful houses.

From the animal area, we continued our trip. Here, we are passing through the Cactus garden.

Some pathways are shaded using flowers, a good and aesthetic solution to Israeli heat.

Parrots

The last complex we visited was the parrot area. There were several dozen parrots, about a dozen of them free. You could pet them and let them sit on you.

Though we spent only about 20 minutes with the parrots, this was the most memorable part from my daughter’s perspective, besides the fountain.

While walking towards the exit, the Musical Water Fountain played again.

I took the previous photo from the elevated deck (on the other side of the fountain), which is probably the best viewing point.

As you exit from Utopia, you pass through a big store where you can find different things for your garden. You can find different plant and garden sculptures:

About Utopia Orchid Park

A unique botanical-ecological garden that includes a spectacular and expansive outdoor area filled with mazes, a topiary, a musical fountain, and more.

It is a unique botanical garden mainly due to the tropical rainforest:

An enchanting tropical rain forest grows with thousands of orchids from around the world, tropical plants, a myriad of animals, and even carnivorous plants.

Source for both quotes: official site

Agrotourism Attractions

You can find similar attractions in the Agrotourism category. And here are a selected few:

• Picking Strawberries – When, Where, and Comparison of Places
  • Strawberry Picking at Stalbetut, Hod HaSharon
  • The Strawberry and Flower, Ramot HaShavim
  • M’shoch BaGezer – Visitors Guide
  • Tutland – Tal’s Strawberry Farm, Hod HaSharon
• Bustan Shoshan, Matsliah – Exotic Fruit Experience
• Mostly Raspberries
  • Agronen Self-picking in Gedera
  • Self-picking raspberries at Kaplan Farm in Kfar Haim
• Flowers
  • Darom Adom
  • Anemone Forest HaSargel
  • Buttercup Picking Festival
  • Hibiscus Farm
  • Utopia Orchid Park
  • Cyclamen Trail
  • Rosh HaAyin Forest – Wildflowers Trail
  • Coastal Iris Trail at Ilanot Forest
  • Coastal Iris at Nahal Poleg Nature Reserve
• Picking at Tali Grapes in Moshav Lachish
• Honey tour at Dvorat HaTavor Visitor Center
• Harvesting Olives At Galili Olive Oil, Bethlehem Of Galilee
• The Salad Trail – Visitors Guide – Agricultural Tours in Southern Israel
• Ktofoti – Self-Picking Farm
• Sweet Cherry picking in Israel
  • Self-Picking Odem, Sweet Cherry at Golan Heights
  • Bustan Bereshit, Golan Heights – Self-Picking Sweet Cherry
  • Cherry-picking in Jish – Savanna Farm
• Meshek haPark, Herzliya

Summary

Utopia is a pleasant attraction for the whole family. You can spend several hours up to a half-day there. Moreover, Kibbutz Bahan is not too far from the center. The only downside is the entrance fee. For a similar price, you can visit the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo. Thus, I am unsure about the value for money (unless you use coupons).

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

Stay Tuned!

For similar posts, check out Agrotourism and Nature.

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.