Who says there’s no place to swim in Jerusalem?

April 4, 2009 - 8:48 PM by

ein_perat1The next time you hear someone complaining about landlocked Jerusalem, take them to Nahal Perat. It’s surely one of the most beautiful and tranquil places in the Jerusalem area if not the whole country, and… it’s WET!

Located inside the settlement of Anatot, just on the outskirts of Jerusalem neighborhood Pisgat Ze’ev (alright, this is definitely in ‘the territories’, so if you’ve got a problem with that, then you can stop reading now), Nahal Perat is part of the chain of waterways to flows into the more well known Wadi Kelt.

Full of history – the modern Anatot (also known as Almon) is presumably the location of
the Biblical town of that name, which is first mentioned in the book of Yehoshua as one of the forty-two cities that were set aside for the Levites. At the time of the destruction of the First Temple, the prophet Jeremiah purchased land in Anatot to demonstrate his faith in God’s promise that the Jewish people will return home after the exile to Babylon.

In between the incredibly refreshing pools of water, which range from kid-wading deep to diving depths, and the people snappeling on the dramatic cliffs sprouting from the spring, and the incredible beauty, is an other-worldy monastery.

In the fourth century, the Byzantine monk Haritun built the monastery into the cliffs over the springs. A monk named Vladimir still lives there and visits to the Shangri La-type structure can be arranged.

A great eucalyptis grove provides a shady picnic area, and you have the option of hiking down about 20 minutes to the pools or driving down a steep incline with hairpin curves to a convenient bottom parking lot.

Nahal Perat is an incredibly refreshing, life-affirming way to spend a day in Jerusalem.

Tags: , , , , • Category: Environment, History and Culture, Travel 

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