EZTrip.com International Destination Guide and Hotel Listings

Claiming to be the oldest inhabited city on earth, Jericho , the City of Palms (Ariha in Arabic), lies in the south Jordan Valley, 40km east of Jerusalem. At 250m below sea level, it's the lowest town on earth, which makes it extremely hot in summer and warm in winter - a factor that has long made it a favourite resort. The town centre has little in the way of attractions, but it is surrounded by fascinating historical sites.

The oldest of some twenty successive settlements excavated here dates back to around 8000 BC, but the event for which the city is best known occurred around 1200 BC, when Joshua and the invading Israelites crossed the Jordan River, sounded their trumpets, and as the song tells it "the walls came tumbling down", or, as the more prosaic biblical version has it (Joshua 6:20), "the wall fell down flat". The city was rebuilt in the ninth century BC (I Kings 16:34) and, later, Elisha purified the water of the spring after being lobbied by local residents who complained that it made the land barren (II Kings 2:19-22). Jesus visited the town several times; he restored the sight of a blind beggar (Luke 18:35-43) and on Jebel Quruntul, the Mount of Temptation, he spent forty days in meditation (Luke 4:1-3). The centre of population shifted from Tel al-Sultan to the site of the present town during the Byzantine period.

There is a PNA tourist office north of town near Tel al-Sultan, but it's rarely open, so it's advisable to call first (tel 992 2935). Service taxis take you to Jericho's main square, where you'll find banks and moneychangers. The post office is just off it, on al-Karamah Street (the Amman road).

One of the best ways to see the sights, which are quite scattered, is to rent a bicycle ; try Zaki Bike Shop on the main square, or Mohammed Tawil's bike shop, just off it on Sharia al-Maghtas; expect to pay around 3-4NIS an hour, or 15NIS per day. You could also walk , but bear in mind the heat (even fiercer here than the rest of the West Bank). For both take sun protection and plenty of water . Alternatively, you could hire a taxi . If so, you'll probably want one for the whole day, so agree a price with the driver for a route taking in all the sites you want to see, including waiting time.

No buses run to Jericho at present, and the only way to get here on public transport is by service taxi , or by a privately hired "special" taxi. Direct service taxis from Jerusalem are a rarity: if running, they will leave from HaNeviim Street opposite the Damascus Gate, but you will probably have to go to Bethany and take a service taxi from there. The journey from Bethany costs 7NIS and takes around 40 minutes. On the way, you'll pass the Inn of the Good Samaritan , some 10km east of Jerusalem, on the spot where the hero of Jesus's famous parable (Luke 10:30-36) came to the aid of the injured traveller despite their membership of mutually hostile ethnic groups. A little further, a sign by the roadside marks your descent below sea level .