Your Jerusalem Mount of Olives Tour starts just outside the Jaffa Gate. You’ll start this 3-hour walking tour by getting into a private bus (included in the ticket price) and being driven up to the Mount of Olives. Upon arrival, your expert local guide’s first stop is the Church of Pater Noster, believed to be where Jesus Christ taught the Lord’s Prayer in the grotto under the church. As you walk around the church and its beautiful cloisters, you’ll see the Lord’s Prayer translated into 140 languages, beautifully arranged in ceramic tiles on the walls. While there, you will also visit the Chapel of the Ascension, believed to be where Jesus ascended to Heaven.
From there, your licensed guide will begin leading you down the Mount of Olives, showing you the many, many burial sites along the way. As both the Jews and the Muslims believe the Mount of Olives is where the gates of Heaven will open on Judgment Day, and is it is where the end of days was described to Jesus’s disciples, the Mount of Olives holds special significance for all three faiths. Whether you are religious or not, you’ll be impressed by the breathtaking views across the Old City as you make your descent, visiting the Dominus Flevit Church, where Jesus wept over the future destruction of Jerusalem.
Some of the most impressive sites of the Mount of Olives are at the foot of the hill itself. As well as seeing the famous olive trees, you’ll visit the garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus prayed on the night of his arrest. You’ll also visit the Church of All Nations, where it is believed Jesus prayed the night before his crucifixion, before finishing the tour at the tomb of the Virgin Mary. Then, the tour usually concludes by the Tomb of the Virgin Mary, but you can also go back to Jaffa Gate with the guide.
Local licensed English-speaking guide
Entrance fees to the Chapel of Ascension (5 NIS) and Church of the Pater Noster (10 NIS)
