Mini Israel

Mini Israel is a popular attraction 20 minutes from Tel Aviv and Jerusalem where Israel has been recreated in miniature. Here you can see the whole country in a day! Mini Israel has 385 exact models of Israel's most important landmarks, architecture, historic sites, religious structures, and modern wonders. Mini Israel is populated by 25,000 7cm-high miniature residents!

The model is not a small, simple, or colorless creation but rather a large 1:25 scale model with miniature people, electric lights, moving elements, sound effects, and all the landmarks of the Holy Land. If you aren’t going to be in Israel long enough to see the whole country then visit Mini-Israel to see everything from Mount Hermon in the north to Eilat on the Red Sea.

There are also about 500 mini animals, over 4,000 mini cars, motorbikes, trains, planes, ships, trucks, and even helicopters. Among the models are beautiful indigenous plants and miniature trees like cypress trees, olive trees, pomegranate trees, myrtle, rosemary, and lavender, recreating some of Israel's most famous landscapes. Walkways and small bridges take visitors on a route through the "country." 

Visiting Mini Israel

Mini Israel was conceived by an Israeli entrepreneur, Eiran Gazit who was inspired by Madurodam, the miniature park in the Netherlands. Mini Israel stands on land belonging to Kibbutz Nachson in the Latrun area with the Ayalon Valley as a backdrop. Since its opening in 2002 Mini Israel has welcomed more than 4 million visitors. The site's slogan is "See It All – Small."

The models are laid out in a star of David shape with each of the six triangles featuring the landmarks of Tel Aviv; Jerusalem; Haifa; the Galilee and northern Israel; the Negev and southern Israel and the center of the country. The models are made of polyurethane or polymeric and hand-painted with waterproof paint. There is a visitor center, food court, souvenir store, amphitheater, lecture hall, and a bonsai nursery where you can buy plants. If you want to have a better idea of what you are looking at then get the audio guide. 

Highlights of Mini Israel

The latest addition to Mini Israel Park is a 3D MiniMax aerial movie that takes you above Israel's most beautiful landmarks and landscapes. See the magnificent religious structures like the Western Wall, Dome of the Rock, and Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Also, the sites of minority ethnic groups are shown like the Druze and Bedouin communities. Some of the models have moving parts including planes, trains, and a soccer game.

Dramatic lighting brings the models to life and sound recordings allow you to hear the people praying at the Western Wall; the planes taking off at Ben Gurion and supporters at a football match. The park is constantly being updated to include new structures. If you want to see the country in just a couple of hours this is the place to come.