They say the best destination is not on any map yet.
It is on trips like these that we truly feel and appreciate the spirit of Ahlan Palestine, that aims to discover and find the best destinations in Palestine that are not heavily advertised or talked about.
A hidden treasure in Aboud
On a very early Friday morning, Malak and I decided to discover a new trail in the village of Deir Ghassaneh, a small village north of Ramallah with many old stone-houses and palaces that stand to bear witness to the village’s rich and mesmerizing history.
After walking for few hours in Deir Ghassaneh, we decided to go back to a destination we loved and wrote about before, Ein Zarqa Spring. We drove through Beit Rima down to the Lemon Valley in Aboud village. Aboud is located 30 km northwest of Ramallah, sitting 450 meters above sea level. It is also known as the “City of Flowers” and has a beautiful mountainous landscape cultivated with olive trees.
Besides its rich natural heritage, Aboud is equally rich in its historical treasures. It has several churches, monasteries, and mosques that are built on foundations dating back to Byzantine, Ottoman, and Crusader periods.
While we were driving towards Ein Zarqa, we passed by a place surrounded with trees and a wooden fence. Being the curious beings we are, we decided to go in to find out what this place is exactly.
We were surprised to find a very cozy garden filled with lemon trees and two swimming pools filled with the water of a fresh spring from the surrounding mountains.
The place is built, owned and run by Abu Radi, a very humble Palestinian man from Aboud. Abu Radi showed us around the place and we were very impressed and decided to come back during the week.
Few days later, we prepared ourselves, put on our swim wear, packed few snacks and headed to the Limon Valley Garden and Pool. It was a special day, as two of our friends joined our adventure. Maha who came all the way from Jerusalem and Alena, a Palestinian-German journalist who works with Malak.
On the way to Birzeit, we spotted a watermelon seller exactly by Jabal Al Nijme road at the entrance of the Rihan residential compound. Malak immediately asked Maha to stop so we can buy a water melon to take with us on our trip. We also bought white cheese to eat with the watermelon, because nothing beats a chilled watermelon with white cheese while swimming on a hot day.
(Side note: Malak asked Hussein to give us the best watermelon he has and she promised to visit him again and give him her feedback. Guess what? We actually went back to tell him the watermelon was amazing! He was so happy and gave Malak another watermelon as a gift. And you wonder why we love this land and its people.)
We also bought some fresh Fakous “Armenian cucumbers” on the way as this area is very well known for planting organic Fakous, a vegetable widely known in Palestine that belongs to the Cucurbitaceae gourd family. We enjoyed Alena’ss reaction trying her first Fakous ever.
Splash, Splash, Splash!
The minute we arrived at the garden Abu Radi welcomed us and led us to our table under the shade of the lemon tree. We spent our day swimming and having the best time around the pool area, making the biggest splash and playing ball in the water with children from villages around Aboud, who came that day to enjoy the chill water too. (Check our instagram for more videos and photos from the day)
The place had a different vibe every few hours. And as the sun started to go down, and the pool got empty, the place became magical and we were tempted to camp at the garden, which is also a possibility if you have the necessary camping gear!
We did not camp this time, but we promise to do that and report on it for you all. We left the valley around sunset and headed back to Ramallah.
We Recommend:
- Visit this place very early in the morning or later in the afternoon if you have the ability to camp to enjoy the quiet sunset or sunrise.
- Visit this place during the week instead of the weekend, if you prefer a quiet place because it could get really loud during the weekend.
- Take your food, snacks and drinks with you or ask Abu Radi to prepare a meal for you that day. You can also buy your snacks from his small cafeteria to support him.
- If you are a big group, you can ask for Zarb, a meal cooked based on an ancient technique of preparing food in underground pits and is usually prepared with chicken, goat, or sheep, as well as various vegetables such as carrots, onions, potatoes, or tomatoes. If you decide on this option you will have to call Abu Radi a day before so he can prepare it.
- Take a comfortable footwear as the beauty of the surrounding areas might tempt you to go for a walk or a hike to Ein Zarqa spring, which we wrote about before.
- For questions or reservations call Abu Radi at +970599281815.
- This is the best destination for people traveling on a budget. It is cheaper than anything that you will find in the Ramallah area.
Directions:
- Leave Ramallah through Birzeit town towards Rawabi city. At the Rawabi roundabout, keep driving straight towards the entrance of the village of Nabi Saleh.
- Once at the intersection, take your left away from Nabi Saleh and drive straight. You will pass by Deir Abu Meshal before you see another intersection with a sign saying Aboud on the right side.
- Take your right and enter Aboud and drive straight until you find a sign saying Wadi Al Limon or Lemon valley, take that exit driving between the old houses and backyards of the village.
- Keep driving down a steep hill and you will reach another intersection with another road going up the hill on the right side.
- Keep driving straight and only few meters ahead you will see the Lemon Vally Garden and Pool on your right.
- The road on the right side of the intersection will take you straight to Beit Rima and Deir Ghasaneh. You can also arrive at the Lemon Valley driving through Nabi Saleh (See Map above).
Hope you enjoyed reading this as much we enjoyed the experience and writing about it! Stay tuned for more adventures and do not forget to share this with your friends.