Visitors
Visiting Hashmonaim: start here
Hashmonaim sits in the hills where the Maccabean story began, a few minutes from the Maccabean Graves, Neot Kedumim and the Ben Shemen forest, with Latrun a short drive south. There is no hotel in the yishuv; the nearest is in Modi'in, by the train station.
Visitors
Start here
6 steps, in the order most people take them.
- 1
Walk the Maccabean sites
The Maccabean Graves and Horvat HaGardi in the Ben Shemen forest, and Umm el-Umdan in Modi'in, which its excavators believe was ancient Modi'in.
Go - 2
Book a bed nearby
Jacob Hotel Modi'in (85 rooms) is at the Azrieli Center between the mall and Modi'in Center station; Maccabi World in Maccabim has 36 guest rooms.
Go - 3
Come by train or bus
Modi'in Center station is about 4 km away by road; on weekdays Kavim 310, 320, 330 and 340 run between Hashmonaim Junction and Jerusalem roughly every half hour each.
Go - 4
Families: animals and nature
The Israel Primate Sanctuary at Kfar Daniel and the Neot Kedumim biblical reserve are both just off Route 443.
Go - 5
Rainy day
Yad LaShiryon at Latrun (closed on Shabbat) and the Hasmonean Heritage Museum in Modi'in are indoors.
Go - 6
Check Shabbat times
Hashmonaim lights candles 20 minutes before sunset, as published on the yishuv website.
Go
Guides
Read next
- Getting around from HashmonaimBuses inside the yishuv and from Hashmonaim and Shilat junctions, the Modi'in train stations, Rav-Kav desks, traffic updates and who to complain to.
- Where to stay near HashmonaimThere is no hotel in Hashmonaim. The nearest are in Modi'in: a hotel by the train station and a guesthouse in Maccabim.
- Where to shop and eat near HashmonaimThe small shopping strip in Hashmonaim, the Shilat junction supermarkets and bakeries, Shabbat take-away, Azrieli Modiin, and how kashrut certificates work in Mateh Binyamin.
Good to know
- The Maccabean Graves are especially popular on Chanukah; ModiinApp notes that the tombs date from about 500 years after the Maccabees.
- Ayalon-Canada Park near Latrun has been closed since 25 May 2025 after a fire, per KKL.
Community groups
Where people talk
- Binyamin Now (council Telegram channel)Telegram · Mateh Binyamin Regional Council
- Binyamin Plus (regional matnas) on FacebookFacebook · Binyamin Plus (Mateh Binyamin matnas)
- Binyamin Region (English) on FacebookFacebook · Mateh Binyamin Regional Council (English site)
- Mateh Binyamin Regional Council on FacebookFacebook · Mateh Binyamin Regional Council
- Mateh Binyamin council updates: Ganei Modiin (WhatsApp)WhatsApp · Mateh Binyamin Regional Council
- Mateh Binyamin council updates: Hashmonaim (WhatsApp)WhatsApp · Mateh Binyamin Regional Council
From our network
Good people I work with
A few organisations from the Consult With Ari network whose work reaches people in Hashmonaim.
These are not paid listings, and they are separate from the checked directory.
Source
- ModiinApp: the Maccabean Graves (opens in a new tab)
- ModiinApp: Horbat HaGardi (opens in a new tab)
- ModiinApp: Umm el-Umdan (opens in a new tab)
- ModiinApp: Jacob Hotel Modiin (opens in a new tab)
- ModiinApp: Maccabi World guest rooms (opens in a new tab)
- Ministry of Transport GTFS via Open Bus Stride (Hasadna), Tue 2026-10-06 (opens in a new tab)
- Hevel Modiin tourism: Neot Kedumim (opens in a new tab)
- Hevel Modiin tourism: Monkey Park (opens in a new tab)
- Yad LaShiryon website (opens in a new tab)
- ModiinApp: Hasmonean Heritage Museum (opens in a new tab)
- KKL-JNF: Ayalon-Canada Park (opens in a new tab)
This page was written for Hashmonaim from the sources above.
