Sites

When hiking the PH Trail, you will encounter many of Palestine’s sacred places, archeological adventures, and exciting cultural destinations along The Palestinian Heritage Trail. Dozens of amazing sites await you across the entire length of the trail, through the ancient columns at Sebastiya to the bustling streets of Bethlehem’s old city, down to the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron and beyond. You will touch thousands of years of history weighted with immense religious significance, making Palestine unlike any other place in the world.

Collectively, these places extend back through many different historical eras and are linked to an array of fascinating lore and spiritual traditions. However, each site has its own unique story to tell. You can find places associated with stories from the sacred books of the Abrahamic religions, explore Roman ruins, wander the winding streets of the old cities, and marvel at awe-inspiring mountain monasteries. We invite you to experience any or all these amazing sites along The Palestinian Heritage Trail.

Milk Grotto
Tradition holds that Mary, Joseph and Jesus hid in the Milk Grotto before their escape to Egypt. While the Virgin Mary nursed the baby Jesus there, legends report that a drop of...
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Masafer Bani Na’im
At the end of each winter, shepherds from the area of Bani Na’im move east with their cattle to the area called Masafer. They stay in their temporary residencies until the end o...
Mar Saba Monastery
Few Byzantine wilderness monasteries can match the serenity and beauty of Mar Saba, named after Saint Saba (439-532 AD), who settled in a cave opposite to the site to live in co...
Maqam Nabi Yaqin
The walk from the Old City of Bani Na’im up to the hill where Yaqin Mosque is located can make for a beautiful day trip. The mosque at Maqam Yaqin is a simple stone building wit...
Maqam Nabi ‘Uzeir
The site of Maqam Nabi ‘Uzeir is located approximately half a kilometer west of ‘Awarta village. A dirt road towards the shrine leads up through a meadow, covered with colorful ...
Maqam al-Ozayrat
Two shrines are located on the eastern hill of the village surrounded by Awarta’s graveyard. One of them, a two-domed maqam, commemorates the burial place of Phinehas and his so...
Mamre and Ibrahim’s Oak Monastery
Archaeological excavations of the site of Mamre discovered statues of Edomite deities. The place is surrounded with an impressive enclosure consisting of large neatly fitting bl...
Kufr Malek
The village was named after one of its residents whose name was Malik while the word Kufr means village in the Arameic language. Oral tradition states that its residents were or...
Khirbet al-Marjama
The site of Khirbet al-Marjama is believed to have been the village associated with the cemetery. Overlooking the valley and the spring at the edge of a slope, the site dates ba...
Jihar Valley
The path from Tuqu’ dips into the spectacular Jihar Valley (Wadi al-Jihar), a deep limestone canyon winding down into the desert towards the Dead Sea. Prehistoric flints and arr...
Ibrahimi Mosque
The Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron is the point where religious traditions agree that Ibrahim was buried alongside his wife Sarah and where their son Isaac and grandson Jacob, and th...
Hisham’s Palace
Hisham’s Palace, also known as Khirbet el-Mafjar, was a desert castle built in the first half of the 8th century by a member of the Umayyad dynasty and is famous for its many ex...