Al Latrun Travel Guide

When people in Israel say Latrun they think about the monastery that is located here.
We call it "Minzar Ha'shatkanim" which means the monastery of the people who don't speak.

The monastery was build in 1861 by the Trappist order and the monks are famous for being silence and also for the wine they are making.

The monastery is open 09:00-11:00 and 15:30-16:30 except sundays and christian holidays.

the wine store is open 07:30-18:00.

Not too far from the abbey, you will find Mini Israel Park. In this park you can see scale down models of Israeli sites. The models are on 1:25 scale of the real ones and are exremely accurate. One annoying thing here is the addition of commercial stuff. So, some sites were put in just because they have to do with one of the sponsors and some details reflect the sponsors list. For example, all the gas stations you'll see there belong to one chain, all the busses belong to Egged, etc. But, except for this tiny issues, you can have a walk and see dozens of famous, beautiful, sites. This could help you decide on places you want to visit which were not on your origianl list of places to see.

Latroun Abbey is one of the most famous monasteries in Israel. It's clearly visible from the Tel-Aviv Jerusalem highway. This strategic place was one of the bloodiest battle field of the Israeli independence war of 1948. The British police station on the opposite hill, occupied by Jordanian forces, was the target of several attacks. After several futile attempts, costing the life of hundreds, the Israeli forces withdrew and the place was no-man's land until 1967 when it was taken by Israel with the the West Bank.

The abbey itself is the home of the Trappist Order, famous for their silence vows. There is acharming little garden and a church you can visit and from there you have a great view of the Ayalon Valley below. Also, you can get the locla wine, brandy, olive oil, spices and more in the little store.

You can also go and see the nearby Beit Jimal monastery.