The Jerusalem Trail (Hebrew שביל ירושלים) is a 38 km long walking trail which starts at the parking lot of the Ein Handek spring, continues eastward towards Jerusalem, circles the Old City of Jerusalem and then returns westward and ends at ruines of the Sataf. The trail was inaugurated in 2006.
Trail marking
[edit]The trail is marked with unique blue-gold-blue signs and a symbol of the lion in the city, with similar markings in blue and gold (especially within the city). Outside the city, the trail is mainly marked with a blue trail marking and there is also a section in which the trail is marked with a green trail marking (near Mount Herat).
Walk
[edit]The Jerusalem Trail begins at the parking lot of the Ein Handek spring, which flows from the foot of Moshav Even Sapir. The spring's name is in Arabic and means the "canal spring". The Ein Handek spring has two long, rock-cut tunnels which have flowing water all year round. Due to the contamination of the water it is forbidden to go into the tunnels.
From Ein Handek you'll follow a trail marked with blue trail markings which leads down a dirt road to a gate with a sign that says "Hadassah Trail", which is maintained by volunteers from the Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital. The Hadassah Trail, which is mainly a dirt road, leads to the Ma'ayan Miriam spring in Ein Kerem.
From Ein Kerem the trail leads to the entrance of Yad Vashem.
From Yad Vashem to the Valley of Hinnom
[edit]From the Valley of Hinnom to the Hebrew University
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From the Hebrew University to Lifta
[edit]From Lifta to Sataf
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Dynamic map
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Stay safe
[edit]- Parts of the trail, especially those within the streets of the city of Jerusalem might not have trail marking signs. Often the signposts within the city area might get lost or corrupted as a result of vandalism, and that might of course make it difficult to follow the route of the trail (therefore, bringing along a map, just in case, might be helpful). The parts of the trail that are located in an open area are also marked with regular trail marking and are maintained by the Israel Trail Commission.
- Part of the trail passes through East Jerusalem. This is a sensitive area from the security aspects throughout the year, and the sensitivity intensifies on Fridays when special prayers are held in the mosques, during the month of Ramadan, and during Palestinian memorial days.
- Some of the sites along the Jerusalem trail aren't open to the public, and some of them have specific visit hours (it is therefore recommended to check that up in advance). Entrance to some of the sites involves an entrance fee.