Our Story

The Gazelle Valley is the biggest urban nature site in Israel. It is the best place to watch the mountain gazelles species in their natural habitat. About 110 members of this endangered species are living in the park, leading a mostly natural lifestyle. Like in the wild, the gazelles find their own food, breed, raise their young, and fight over territory. Alongside the gazelles the park is home to dozens of species of birds, reptiles, insects, and plants, compiling a functioning urban ecosystem.

This valley was once a home to a herd of over 33 wild gazelles. In the year 1993 their passage to the mountains surrounding Jerusalem was blocked by a new highway, leaving the gazelles stranded in the valley. In the following years the herd gradually disappeared due to the threats of feral dogs, jackals and even humans, who chased the gazelles to the highway, where most of lost their lives. A decade later, the area was designated to become a luxurious housing project, and the gazelle's fate seemed doomed.

However, the residents surrounding the valley came to their aid. For more than twelve years the local community fought long and hard to save the valley, and in the year 2015 Gazelle Valley Park was established.

The Gazelle valley is accessible for wheelchairs and strollers, has bathroom facilities and can be reached via both private and public transportation.

Gazelle valley is a publicly run site, with no entry fees. The place is open year round, during all daylight hours
During national and Jewish holidays, the park offers free tours and activities. For a group guided tour you are welcome to hire any private tour guide of your choice

Our herd of gazelles

The years of being trapped in the valley, before the park was established to protect them, did not come without a cost. Most fawns born in those years were eaten by stray dogs and city-dwelling jackals, and those who survived to adulthood, were likely to be killed in the traffic of the nearby highway. At the time when the park was finally established, there were only 3 surviving gazelles.

In the first two years of the park's existence the several additional gazelles, who were rescued from illegal captivity, were introduced to the park. However, since 2017 the herd is growing independently, the breeding season of spring of 2019, yielded thirteen new fawns, and by 2024 the herd reached the unprecedented amount of one hundred and ten gazelles.