Israel · Jerusalem · Jerusalem
Motza, Jerusalem — Area Guide & Where to Stay
Motza is a neighbourhood on the western edge of Jerusalem, set in the Judaean Mountains above the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway.
Hotel links are affiliate links: booking through them may earn us a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never affects how places are ranked. How this works
Where to stay in Motza
Where visitors usually base themselves, and why.
Beds are thin on this ridge. Motza sits down the slope from the built-up western neighbourhoods of Jerusalem, so most visitors book in the city proper and drive out along the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway or the winding mountain road that climbs to Har Nof. The pull is the quiet.
If you want pine slopes and the Tel Motza temple site within a short walk rather than a hotel lobby, base yourself on this western fringe and treat the memorial ridge around Yad Vashem as the way back in.
Find hotels in Motza
Direct booking searches for these neighbourhoods.
Motza valley floor
The valley floor under Motza keeps the Tel Motza temple excavation and the pine slopes of the Judaean Mountains within walking reach. Beds are limited here, so book early.Find hotels in Motza valley floortravellers tracing the old Motza houses around Beit YelinBeit Yelin lanes
Beit Yelin anchors the oldest built corner of Motza, and the lanes beside it stay residential rather than touristed. Rooms are few around here — worth securing early.Find hotels in Beit Yelin lanesdrivers who want the mountain road up to Har Nof at the doorHar Nof approach
The winding mountain road to Har Nof ties Motza to the western Jerusalem neighbourhoods without joining the main highway.Find hotels in Har Nof approachHotel links are affiliate links: booking through them may earn us a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never affects how places are ranked. How this works
Things to do in and around Jerusalem
Ranked by global recognition; descriptions from Wikidata (CC0).
Museums & Galleries
3- Yad Vashem
- Hall of Names
- Debel Gallery
Churches & Religious Sites
3- Notre-Dame de Sion
- Tel Motza temple
- Our Lady of Sion Chapel, Jerusalem
Castles & Historic Sites
3- Victims of Acts of Terror Memorial
- National Memorial Hall (Mount Herzl)
- Mount Herzl Plaza
Nature & Outdoors
1- Garden of the Missing Soldiers
Landmarks & Notable Places
1- Beit Yelin, Motza Heritage
worth knowingacross 5 categories in and around Jerusalem
About Motza
What are the main landmarks in Motza?
Two names carry this ground. Tel Motza temple marks an excavated temple site on the slope below the houses, and Beit Yelin keeps a historic dwelling standing in the older part of the neighbourhood. The memorial ridge sits above.
Climbing east toward Jerusalem brings the Mount Herzl Plaza, the Herzl Museum, and the Yad Vashem campus with its Hall of Names and The Valley of the Communities cut into the hillside.
What is the history of Motza?
The name is old, and so is the ground. Excavation at Tel Motza temple shows this slope in the Judaean Mountains was built on long before the modern neighbourhood took shape, and the place has been written as Mozah and as Motsa as well as Motza. Settlement came later.
Beit Yelin is the surviving marker of that settlement, while the memorial institutions on the ridge above, among them Yad Vashem and the Herzl Museum, belong to a much later chapter of Jerusalem.
Where is Motza?
Motza lies 600 metres above sea level in the Judaean Mountains, on the western edge of Jerusalem where Highway 16 threads the hills.
Common questions
What is the best area to stay in Motza?
Motza valley floor: walkers heading down to the Tel Motza temple dig below the houses. Beit Yelin lanes: travellers tracing the old Motza houses around Beit Yelin. Har Nof approach: drivers who want the mountain road up to Har Nof at the door.
Good for
More areas in Jerusalem
Updated October 2026