Utopia Orchid Park – Visitors Guide (with Coupons)

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 located at the entrance to Kibbutz Bahan. Enter “Utopia Orchid Park” into the navigation app, and it will take you there. 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: 8:30-17:00
Fridays and Holiday eves: 8:30-15:00

Note: last entrance is allowed 1.5 hours before closure.

Entrance Fee

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

Note: children under the age of two enter for free.

You can also purchase a family ticket for 222 NIS for two adults and two children.

You can purchase the tickets at the official site.

Coupons

Currently, I see only one coupon. 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 December 2022. In any case, recheck the official site before visiting.

About Utopia Orchid Park

Utopia Orchid Park opened more than a decade ago, and the first time I visited this attraction was about a decade ago. Last weekend we decided to revisit it with our daughter and see what changed.

What is Utopia?

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

The Entrance

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

At the entrance, we saw different plants.

But only after taking several steps back we saw the writing. It says Utopia both in 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. Inside this building, which is the size of a basketball stadium, they created a tropical ecosystem.

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.

And some more Orchids 🙂

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

Nepenthes drive insects by smell and can not get out once they enter the pitcher. Insects cannot hold onto the pitcher’s interior and fall into the water at the bottom of the pitcher. And the insect’s movement is what 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.

Closeup of the Nepenthes:

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.

Every half hour the music starts 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 of the pathways are shaded using flowers. And I think it is a good and aesthetic solution to Israeli heat.

Parrots

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

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

While we were 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). The deck 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:

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 – Visitor Guide – Exotic Fruit Experience
• Mostly Raspberries
  • Agronen Self-picking in Gedera
  • Self-picking raspberries at Kaplan Farm in Kfar Haim
• Flowers
  • Buttercup Picking Festival
  • Hibiscus Farm
  • Utopia Orchid Park
• 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 Jerusalem Biblical Zoo. Thus I am not sure about the value for money.

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:

• Israel Trip Planner is the page that will help you to create your perfect travel route.
• National Parks And Nature Reserves page lists and put all national parks on the map. There is also a top list, information about ticket types and campsites.
• If you are looking for things to do, here are the pages for Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Sea Of Galilee, and Makhtesh Ramon.
• Wondering what events are there in Israel? Here is the Events And Festivals By Season guide.

And if you have any questions then check out Useful Information For Tourists To Israel.