Palestine & the West Bank —far more than Bethlehem
Our 2018 Holy Land journey took us beyond Bethlehem into the wider West Bank and Jordan Valley, including Jericho, Hebron and the Jordan River area. What stayed with us most was the contrast: ancient pilgrimage sites, busy Palestinian cities, stark checkpoints, desert landscapes and the experience of hearing different guides explain the same land from very different perspectives.
This page describes our 2018 experience
Travel note: This is a first-hand travel story from 2018, not current security advice. The situation has changed significantly since our visit. Always check current Irish Department of Foreign Affairs guidance before considering travel.
Bethlehem, Jericho, Hebron and the Jordan Valley
Church of the Nativity, Manger Square, the separation barrier and our Palestinian guide.
One of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world, in the Jordan Valley, with Ancient Jericho/Tell es-Sultan nearby.
One of the most historically layered cities on our West Bank route, with the Old City and the Cave of the Patriarchs / Ibrahimi Mosque at its heart.
Qasr al-Yahud was part of our pilgrimage route and one of the most meaningful stops of the trip.
Crossing into the West Bank
Bethlehem was where the geography and politics of the region stopped feeling abstract. At the checkpoint, the Israeli guide who had accompanied the group was replaced by a Palestinian guide for the Bethlehem visit.
We visited the Church of the Nativity and Manger Square, and we also saw the separation barrier and Palestinian street art. The guide's knowledge of the biblical sites was extraordinary, but the surrounding city mattered just as much: this was not simply a pilgrimage stop, but a living Palestinian city.
Ancient Jericho and the Jordan Valley
Our route also took us through Jericho and the Jordan Valley. Ancient Jericho, or Tell es-Sultan, sits northwest of the modern city and preserves archaeological layers stretching back thousands of years.
The landscape around Jericho could hardly have felt more different from Jerusalem: dry, low-lying and dramatic, with bare mountains rising from the valley. It is one of those places where geography and history are inseparable.
Old City and sacred history
Our wider West Bank journey also included Hebron, one of the region's most historically significant cities. The Old City is dense, atmospheric and layered with centuries of religious and political history.
At the centre of it is the Cave of the Patriarchs / Ibrahimi Mosque, a site revered in Judaism and Islam and associated with Abraham and the patriarchs. In Jewish tradition, the cave is also regarded as the burial place of Adam and Eve. Hebron felt very different again from Bethlehem and Jericho, and added another layer to how varied the West Bank is from place to place.
Qasr al-Yahud and the baptism route
Qasr al-Yahud on the Jordan River was another major stop on our pilgrimage. For Nicola, the Jordan River experience became one of the most personal moments of the entire journey.
The route through this part of the West Bank also made the distances and borders feel very real: checkpoints, controlled crossings and desert roads were part of the journey, not just something we had read about beforehand.
Photos from the wider journey
These are our own photographs from the wider 2018 Holy Land route. We have deliberately kept Jerusalem-specific photographs on the Jerusalem page rather than mixing them into this guide.
Other Palestinian cities worth knowing about
Our own route focused on Bethlehem, Jericho and the Jordan Valley, but Palestine is much broader than the places we personally visited. Other major destinations include Ramallah and Nablus. We are not presenting those as first-hand recommendations — they are simply useful places to research when planning a wider visit.
Bethlehem from home
Our friends at Drive From Home have a Bethlehem guide and virtual city experience if you want to explore from your sofa.
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Read the wider Holy Land story
This West Bank journey was one part of Nicola's 2018 pilgrimage, alongside Jerusalem, the Sea of Galilee, Masada, the Dead Sea and Tel Aviv.
Read the full Holy Land guide →