Flowers, Olives & Everything In Between

Late fall (November) and the end of winter (February-March) are the best times to take a stroll in the hilly Nahal Sorek area, which is home to many orchards. The area is filled with Sternbergia during the early winter season (November-December), as well as orchids and tulips in the spring. During January-February, the Tel Beit Shemesh archaeological site west of Highway 38 is covered in a vast carpet of poppy anemones, attracting hikers from all over the country.

On Har Tayasim, a hill about 800 meters high, the Arbutus trees bloom at the beginning of winter and are joined by orchids in February. Later in your hike, you can walk along the marked path that crosses the eastern area of the Turkish Pilots’ Monument and enter the natural forest, where Arbutus trees bloom alongside pink and sage-leaved rock-rose, as well as thyme.

March-April is the perfect time for a trip to Lupine Hill (or officially Tel Shuka) in the Valley of Elah, which is one of the most picturesque flowering sites in Israel. The most common flower on the hill is the blue lupine, but you will also see Persian cyclamen, poppy anemone, Persian buttercup, branched asphodel, Israeli Adonis, Barbary nut, white mustard, and more in bloom.

The olive harvest season usually lasts throughout October and November. Close to the Gordonia Ma’ale Hahamisha, and especially in nearby Jerusalem, you can visit some of Israel’s most impressive olive groves. At the Church of Gethsemane you will find the oldest olive trees in the country, while Kibbutz Ramat Rachel has a park with 200 olive trees (plus the Olive Columns sculpture by the artist Ran Morin). Tel Hadid also has a wonderful orchard and no less than 600 trees have been planted over the years on the Scherover Promenade at Armon HaNatziv.