In 1994, a woman in Akko’s old city called a plumber to fix a blocked drain beneath her house. The plumber discovered not a clogged pipe but a 150-meter-long underground tunnel, built by the Knights Templar in the 12th century, running from the Templar fortress in the southwest of the old city to the port in the east. The tunnel, sealed and forgotten for over 700 years, is now one of the most dramatic archaeological experiences in Israel.
Knights Templar
The Knights Templar were a military-religious order founded in 1119 to protect Christian pilgrims traveling to the Holy Land. They took their name from the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, where they established their first headquarters in the Al-Aqsa Mosque (which the Crusaders called the Temple of Solomon). The Templars became one of the most powerful and wealthy organizations in the medieval world, with commanderies across Europe and a banking system that financed kings and crusades.
In Akko, the Templars built their fortress in the southwestern corner of the city. The tunnel connected the fortress to the port, providing a secure, hidden route for moving people, goods, and treasure between the two most important points in the city. When the Mamluks conquered Akko in 1291, ending the Crusader presence in the Holy Land, the tunnel was buried and forgotten.
Tunnel
The tunnel is cut through the bedrock and lined with dressed stone, with a vaulted ceiling high enough to walk through upright. The passage is approximately 150 meters long and runs in a straight line beneath the old city. Atmospheric lighting illuminates the Crusader masonry, and the experience of walking through a secret passage that Templar knights used 800 years ago is genuinely thrilling. The tunnel emerges near the port, where visitors step from the 12th century into the sunlight of the modern waterfront.
Visit with Hoshen Tours
The Templar Tunnel is one of the most exciting discoveries in Akko. Hoshen Tours walks the tunnel and tells the story of the Templars, their wealth, their secrets, and their dramatic end.