Hebron Governorate · Palestine
Where to stay in Hebron
Hebron is a city in Hebron Governorate, Palestine, home to about 215,000 people.
- Best months
- March to May, October and November
- Nearest airport
- TLV57 km · Ben Gurion International Airport
- Currency
- ILSnew shekel
- Time zone
- Asia/Hebron
- Language
- Arabic
About
About Hebron
Hebron is a city in the southern West Bank, Palestine, and the capital of the Hebron Governorate, which is the largest in the West Bank. It is located 30 kilometers (19 mi) south of Jerusalem.
Hebron is mentioned in the Bible as the home of Abraham, and the burial place of him and several generations of his family. In King David's time, Hebron was briefly the capital of the Israelite state, before the capital moved to Jerusalem. Today, Hebron is holy to both Muslims and Jews due to its association with Abraham. (Christianity is also an Abrahamic religion, but Christians haven't paid as much attention to Hebron.) The Jewish population of Hebron was evacuated after Arabs killed nearly 70 of them in 1929. After the 1967 war, a few Jews resettled the Jewish quarter.
Wikipedia and Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Hebron
See
- Cave of the Patriarchs
- Beit Romano
- Tel Rumeida
- Tomb of Yishai (Jesse) and Ruth
- Abraham's Well
- Church of the Holy Forefathers and Monastery of the Holy Trinity
- Oak of Mamre
- Al Kawthar Mosque
- The Oak of Abraham Monastery
- Avraham Avinu Synagogue
- Sheikh Ali al-Bakka Mosque
- Al-Jawali Mosque
Do
- Old Town/Market (Souq)
- Green Olive Tours
- Breaking the Silence Tours
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Hotels in Hebron
5 hotels within 25 km of the centre, as recorded in Wikidata. Each name links to its encyclopedia article where there is one.
| Hotel | Opened | From centre |
|---|---|---|
| The Walled Off Hotel | 22.8 km | |
| Jacir Palace | 1914 | 22.5 km |
| Palestine Hotel | 1943 | 1.2 km |
| Al Salam Hotel | 21.5 km | |
| Dar Jacaman Apartments | 21.3 km |
When to go
The best time to visit Hebron
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Hebron are March to May, October and November. August is the warmest month, with average highs of 33 °C; January is the wettest, with about 120 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to Hebron: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Ben Gurion International Airport (TLV), about 57 km from the city centre in a straight line; Queen Alia International Airport (AMM, 87 km) and Marka International (Amman Civil) Airport (ADJ, 98 km) are also within reach.
Getting in
If you are visibly Jewish, it is probably not safe to travel unaccompanied to the "other" side of Hebron. However, if you look and sound like an international tourist, you should be fine on both sides.
Getting around
There are at least two gates that allow pedestrian traffic between the Palestinian and Jewish sides. The most convenient gate for travelers is the Bab El-Zawiya crossing, a five minute walk from the Beit Romano bus stop on David Hamelech Street. Parking for Israeli registered vehicles is possible just before the crossing. There is a myth that it is impossible to access the Jewish side of Hebron on foot coming from the highway/main road. However, this was likely only true in tense times, because there were no gates and metal detectors you could be checked with, although this has since changed.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
TLV · Ben Gurion International Airport
AMM · Queen Alia International Airport
ADJ · Marka International (Amman Civil) Airport
Local knowledge
Eating, drinking and staying safe in Hebron
Eat
Buy some tabun (large, soft, round) bread in the Bab il Zaweya quarter and pick up a container of hummus nearby and you are set. Falafel is one of the most famous "snacks" in Palestine in general. Hebron has many famous falafel restaurants that are always crowded because of their tasty falafel. Grab your sandwich for ₪3 and enjoy.
Drink
As an overwhelmingly Muslim city with a more conservative culture than cities such as Bethlehem and Ramallah, alcoholic drinks are not available on the Palestinian side of Hebron. Nightlife is centered around Ein Sarah street with plenty of coffee shops and shisha lounges open until around 23:00. For those who don't enjoy coffee, most cafés also serve orange, carrot and pomegranate juice cheaply.
Stay safe
It seems like there are many "guides" running around, trying to catch tourists on the basis of charity or political activism, showing you pictures of other Westerners they have supposedly worked together with. They even suggest you're Jewish if you don't tell them your nationality, and might become pushy asking for money. This tout-like behavior leaves some doubts whether they really stand for what they are claiming. If you just don't want to be bothered, tell them you have been here before and not interested this time. Be firm, you have nothing to fear from these guys. Hebron definitely is a very political place, but you should decide for yourself whether to take action.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Questions
Hebron: questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Hebron?
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Hebron are March to May, October and November. August is the warmest month, with average highs of 33 °C; January is the wettest, with about 120 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Hebron?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Ben Gurion International Airport (TLV), about 57 km from the city centre in a straight line; Queen Alia International Airport (AMM, 87 km) and Marka International (Amman Civil) Airport (ADJ, 98 km) are also within reach.
What currency is used in Hebron?
new shekel (ILS).
Nearby
Destinations near Hebron
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.