Elijah's Cave in Haifa

According to a long-standing tradition, Elijah used this cave as a place of prayer before his confrontation with the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. He also hid here to escape Queen Jezebel's wrath after killing her prophets of Baal following this event. The cave has been venerated as Elijah’s hiding place since at least the Byzantine period (4th–7th centuries CE), which is when Christian pilgrims began identifying and visiting biblical sites. The Christian Carmelite Order, which emerged in the 12th century on Mount Carmel, emphasized the site’s spiritual connection to the prophet Elijah. Muslims and Druze also revere Elijah as a holy man or prophet. Thus, this site has drawn pilgrims from Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and the Druze faith.

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Having said this, there is no textual evidence that Elijah fled to this particular cave. Elijah’s confrontation with the prophets of Baal was certainly on Mount Carmel as related in I Kings 18:19-20: "Now therefore have all Israel assemble for me at Mount Carmel, with the four hundred fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah who eat at Jezebel’s table." So, Ahab sent to all the Israelites and assembled the prophets at Mount Carmel.”

Christian and local tradition places this confrontation at the southeastern end of Mount Carmel, near the Druze village of Daliyat al-Karmel. A Carmelite monastery now stands at this site dedicated to Elijah, which is called the Monastery of the Muhraka. Following his killing of her prophets, Elijah did flee to a cave, but the Bible places this at Mount Horeb, the location of Mount Sinai: “He got up, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God. At that place he came to a cave, and spent the night there. Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (I Kings 19:8-9).

Scholarly surveys have documented over 150 inscriptions within the cave in Greek, Latin, Hebrew, and Arabic, dating from the 1st to the 7th centuries CE, indicating that Jewish, Christian, Muslim, and Druze pilgrims venerated this site. The grotto is now used as a synagogue with separate men and women’s areas. The cave is behind a velvet curtain.

Directions: The cave is located at 230 Allenby Road and is accessible via stairs or a sloped concrete walkway from this road. There is a short flight of stairs for the final section. Enter “Elijah’s cave” in Waze and click on "״.מערת אליהו הנביא

Admission: The site is administered by the Israel Ministry of Religious Affairs. There is a parking area across the road. The site is open Sunday to Thursday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Friday 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. It is closed on Shabbat. There is no admission charge. There is an area in the site with a number of shaded picnic tables. A level above this are restrooms.

Public transport: Enter into Moovit “״מערת אליהו הנביא and click on ״ מערת אליהו הנביא Derech Allenby, Haifa.”