“Avshalom” Stalactites Cave

“Avshalom” (“Soreq”) Stalactites Cave General Introduction

“Avshalom”  or “Soreq” Cave or the Stalactites Cave is located on in the Judean mountains next to the city of Bet-Shemesh Israel, only 25 km. distance from Jerusalem , and is unique for its dense concentration of stalactites. It takes 5 minute drive to the bottom of the mountain and then an extra 150 foot strains to climb down, which means that it may be a little challenging for heavy walkers( those 150 stairs needs to climb up at return!!!…),  but once you arrive a magnificent pre historical sight is being exposed. Alex Shenberg, the man who discovered the cave while executing blasts for limestone mining, expressed that he felt like having a look back in time capsule directly to scenes out of the book  of Genesis.

The cave is aged around 300K years has been the focus of paleoclimate research, which allowed reconstruction of the region’s semi-arid climate for the past 185,000 years. According to geologists,  the Stalactites Cave is the Rosetta stone of the climate history in the Levant area. Though, in 2017, the site was under serious scrutiny while signs at the reserved claimed the Stalactites process took “many years”, NOT the scientific measure of 300K which conflicts with religious believes claiming the world was only created 5000 years ago.

“Avshalom Cave” General Information

The entry fees to the Stalactites Cave national park are 8$ for an adult and visitors must register prior 20 minutes to a group tour. Between Sunday-Friday there are only 2 English speaking guided tours and they are scheduled to 11:00\12:00 or 15:00\16:00 depending on the Summer\Winter time zone. Please check with the office for accurate details before arriving at: (972)02-9911117 orst.netifim@npa.org.il.