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Something we hear often from people who visit Ramallah, is that there is nothing to do other than explore the city and its many restaurants and bars. “We finished exploring the whole city in one day”, they always say.
While we understand that Ramallah is a small city in comparison to other places we have all been to, we feel the need to make the distinction clear: Ramallah the city is different than Ramallah the governorate, which includes 94 villages, all within a 40-kilometer radius. This means that by renting a car for a couple of days during your visit, you can tour and explore Ramallah’s nature and beauty in the amazing villages just few kilometers away.
One of these amazing places we recently discovered and explored for you is the Ein Bubin natural spring in the village of Deir Ibzi, 10 kilometers west of Ramallah.
Arriving at the natural spring
To arrive at the spring is fairly easy even for people unfamiliar with the area. You can either rent a car and drive to the village or find public transport in the city center. But if you opt for a rental car, just drive out of the city center on the main road leading to Betounia. It is a beautiful 10 kilometer ride where you will get to see the beautiful nature of Palestine, its lovely homes and the simple lifestyle which is very different than in the city.
We highly recommend you stop at one of the supermarkets or stores on the way to buy something for breakfast. We like buying from the local stores in every place we go to because this is the best way to support them. Bisan and I bought Labaneh (strained yogurt), traditional Taboon bread, cucumber and tomatoes.
We did not know we arrived in Deir Ibzi until we asked someone on the way. He also directed us to finding the exact entrance to the spring. It is exactly between a school and a supermarket called Barafili, you should be able to find it easy but if not just ask people around for directions to Ein Bubin. Palestinians are very helpful and friendly and you wouldn’t find trouble finding anything if you ask people.
Bisan and I drove down an unpaved road for maybe another 10 minutes until we hit a blocked road. The Israeli occupation closed off the main entrance to the spring with a yellow metal gate, which meant that we had to leave our car and hike down to the spring. Anyways, the hike was a lovely addition.
A mistake we made was that we headed left at the yellow gate and ended up walking down a steep hill all the way to a main road next to the illegal Israeli settlement of Dolev. However, we realized with the help of a friend that we should have walked straight from the yellow gate to the spring. We hiked back up and then straight from the yellow gate and down another hill. This time we could feel that we are back on track.
The road was unpaved but surrounded with all kinds of trees and plants. It was becoming more and more green as we went further down, a sign that we are getting closer to a water source. It was very quiet and surreal. We could only hear the insects buzzing and birds singing. Suddenly, Bisan and I heard the sound of flowing water. We couldn’t be more happy and Bisan actually made a funny squeaky sound.
We climbed up to the spring and found the most amazing thing: a big pool with clear water surrounded by a berry tree and endless grape vines. We put our things down and took our shoes fast in preparation for the best part yet: swimming!
Honestly, it seems difficult to describe how amazing we felt the minute we jumped into to the spring. There is something magical about swimming in the nature surrounded by green landscapes and complete silence. The sun was reflecting off the pool and few birds would fly down so fast to the pool to take a sip of water or maybe snatch an insect they saw floating at the surface of the water.
We sat at the side of the pool just enjoying the scenery but jumped back into the spring as soon as we dried up. We spent another two hours chilling and relaxing and then we took some time to explore the surrounding area and caves. We then hiked back up to where we left the car and headed back to Ramallah within 15 minutes.
Ahlan Palestine tips for the best experience:
- Leave early to the spring to enjoy the place for yourself, before other people show up.
- Grab some breakfast to eat when you arrive at the pool because you will be far away from the town and from our experience you would want to spend some good time relaxing in the area.
- We recommend you do not go alone. Go with friends or at least a group. Due to the tense political reality and the pool being in a location between the illegal settlement of Dolev and the village of Deir Ibzi, some Palestinians have reported being harassed by the Israeli settlers who visit the pool.
- Do not forget to bring a towel and some extra clothes because you will want to take a dip in this beautiful pool.
