Beit Guvrin National Park

• Address: Beit Shemesh, Israel;
• Website: parks.org.il;
• Phone: +972 8-681-1020;
• Working hours: every day from 08:00 to 16:00.

The Beit Guvrin National Park is located on hills at an altitude of 400 m and occupies a vast territory of several thousand km². This place is famous for its underground passages, which create a whole city underground with preserved archaeological finds.

Tourists from many countries aspire to get acquainted with the sights of this place. Visiting the National Park Beit Guvrin, you can touch the culture of several peoples who lived in this area at different times.

History of the park

The Beit Gouvrin National Park is called "the city of thousands of caves", being in it, the spirit of the past centuries is felt, because the settlement arose in the years BC. The city began to bear the name Beit Guvrin in the Second Temple period and is located at the crossroads of two roads that are moving to Hebron and Jerusalem . As for the underground dwelling there were rumors that giants lived here.

In these parts people began to settle before our era, this was due to the fact that the land here is enriched with chalky rocks, which are easy to process, therefore it was possible to build in the form of underground structures. Over time, a huge underground city was formed, caves served as houses, places for storing collected water, and there were huge cellars for growing pigeons. The house for the birds was easy to build, you just had to make a lot of small holes, but pigeons served as food and helped in ritual affairs.

Here they were engaged in mining of stone, processed olives and created wells. Also, burials were made for the dead people, during the archaeological excavations in the rich funerary caves rock carvings were discovered.

Beit Guvrin National Park - attractions

In addition to underground caves, Beit Guvrin National Park contains a whole complex of bell-shaped caves, their construction was started in the 7th century AD. e. First a hole was made about 1 m, and then the cave fell down, some depressions reached the mark of 25 m. These caves supplied the stone with all the coastal towns. On the walls of the caves were found numerous drawings, one of the most common images was a cross, which indicates the presence of the Templars in this area. Thanks to the peculiarities of the structure in the caves, excellent acoustics, so they performed concert performances.

Among the most famous underground caves you can list the following:

1. One of the caves was called "Polish" , because on its walls there are signs of the Polish army, which turned out during World War II on these lands. According to the structure, the cave served as a well, and then it turned into a dovecote, as evidenced by characteristic holes. In the well there is a stone staircase to the very bottom, and at the very beginning of the descent the depth of the well is simply amazing. The cave, which has become a dovecote, is still called the Columbarium. Above it rises an unknown building, down it was possible to 3 ladders from different directions. The cave for breeding pigeons is huge, and according to official data the most beautiful in Israel.
2. Another type of cave served as a bathroom . In each room there were two small, sessile bathrooms. The place where water came from in bathrooms was protected so that people do not experience discomfort during bathing. The cave is not very large, but tourists are interested to see it and get acquainted with the life of that time.
3. In this underground city, people were engaged in production, as evidenced by the oil- producing shop . The cave was built before our era and has two presses, on which olive oil was obtained by grinding olives. In the territory of the Beit Guvrin National Park there are about 20 such shops.
4. Under the usual buildings of residential houses were underground secret rooms. All the caves under the houses lead to a large column hall where residents gathered. This is not the only room, there are several underground rooms for fees.
5. There is a cave for burial , it belongs to the family of rulers of Apolophanes, this chapter has been on the throne for thirty years. The cave was used many times, when only the skeleton remained from the shrunken body, it was removed and the next dead body was placed on this place. Although the cave was home to deceased people, but it was beautifully painted, the drawings can even be compared to paintings in the Egyptian pyramids. On the walls there are images of various birds, animals and plants. The cave consists of an entrance to the temple, where Apollo Fanes and two small adjoining rooms are located.
6. Another burial room has acquired the name "cave of musicians" , it was so named for the characteristic drawing on the wall. On it the man plays on two pipes, and the woman holds on to the harp. In the room of the cave there are carved grooves on both sides.

In Beit Guvrin, the remains of the Church of St. Anne are preserved, there is evidence that she was born in this area. It was often destroyed, but to date, half of the dome with three holes for the windows has survived, and there are also fragments of walls that are attached to the dome.

How to get there?

The Beit Gouvrin National Park is located close to Jerusalem and Kiryat Gat. From these settlements to the park can be reached by car or sightseeing bus.