Beresheet Appl Farm Tour Golan Heights

November 10th 2013

When it comes to agricultural tourism in Israel, it’s all happening in the lush green orchards of the Golan. A great place to start your fruit expeditions is at the Beresheet Visitors’ Center, adjacent to the Perot HaGolan fruit packing house near kibbutz Merom Golan. Beresheet is the largest fruit packing house in Israel and was founded in 2005 when two large, nearby packing houses merged. Together, they market 30% of the highest quality deciduous fruit throughout the country. In addition, they export their high quality fruit to England, Russia, Cyprus, South Africa and other countries. When the two packing houses merged, the Beresheet Visitors’ Center, an educational and fun attraction, was added to the company’s offerings. The goal of the visitors’ center is to help people learn more about the fruit industry in Israel.

Ever wonder what happens to fruits like apples and cherries after they are picked from the orchard? A guided factory tour introduces visitors to the “Fruit Path,” where you can learn all about how a piece of fruit journeys from the orchard through cool storage to sorting and packing and ends up in your local market and eventually in your hands. Most of the year, the apple is the star of the tour, but during cherry season, which lasts from May until July, cherries are also featured.

During the tour, which lasts about an hour, you’ll witness the cutting-edge technology employed in the preservation, selection, packing and quality control of fruits prepared in the Beresheet packing house. A short film enhances your experience. It’s best to go early in the day, since the last tour begins the early afternoon.

After the tour, a souvenir shop at the Beresheet Visitors’ Center offers fresh fruit of the highest quality, refreshing Keshet natural juices made from local fruits, local wine, apple cider from apples grown in the Golan, outdoor accessories, clothing with the Beresheet logo and a wide range of other products produced in the Golan Heights and in the nearby Galilee. A highlight of the shop is the selection of gorgeous custom fruit baskets featuring apples, pears, kiwifruit, cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots, plums, berries and more.