A hike to Ruti's Garden (the Rock Garden)
Kibbutz Ma’ale Hahamisha was founded In the Jerusalem Hills in 1938, as part of the Tower and Stockade settlement development method in pre-State Israel. If features some lovely buildings, worth viewing, and if you traverse the kibbutz on foot you’ll be able to enjoy a short, wonderful hike through the woods leading to Ruti’s Garden.
The route:
Exit the hotel building, walk out the gate at the entrance and turn left. In about
100 meters you’ll reach a monument. Many people believe that it was created in memory of
five kibbutz founders, but in fact, it honors the memory of Eliezer Geller and his associates,
heroes of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, and it was sculpted by Artist Endre Révész in 1961.
Geller belonged to the Gordonia movement, whose members founded Kibbutz Ma’ale
Hahamisha. Continue walking – past the orchid hothouses to your left, and up the road in the
direction of the cowshed. After passing the bus station (to your right), turn right towards
the cowshed and continue straight until reaching a dirt path that is easily navigated, which
descends slightly towards the Northwest and leads to Ruti’s Garden, known previously as the
Rock Garden and renamed in memory of a kibbutz member that passed away a few years ago.
The site, in the heart of a grove, has been enhanced with a large number of pleasant sitting
areas. The site also features playground equipment for children, small wooden houses and a
wonderful lookout balcony located at the end of the path.
Return to the Yearim Hotel the same way you came.
Duration: About 1.5 hours.
Distance: 2.5 kilometers.
Degree of Difficulty: Easy.
