Hillah travel guide

Hillah (Arabic: ٱلْحِلَّة al-Ḥillah), also spelled Hilla, is a city in central Iraq. On the Hilla branch of the Euphrates River, it is 100 km (62 mi) south of Baghdad.

The city was once a major centre of Islamic scholarship and education. The tomb of the Jewish prophet Ezekiel is reputed to be in a nearby village, Al Kifl. It became a major administrative centre during the rule of the Ottoman and British Empires. In the 19th century, the Hilla branch of the Euphrates started to silt up and much agricultural land was lost to drought, but this process was reversed by the construction of the Hindiya Barrage in 1911–1913, which diverted water from the deeper Hindiya branch of the Euphrates into the Hilla canal.

Getting in

There are several companies offering long-distance bus services from most cities in Southern Iraq, however information on routes and departure times has to be gathered on ground or by a travel agency. Hillah bus station, often referred to as the consolidated garage (الكراج الموحد) is located along highway 8, about 4 km southwest of the city centre. This is where shared taxis to Najaf leave from (approx. 7,500 IQD per seat as of March 2022). Hillah has a station on the railway between Baghdad and Basra. Iraqi Republic Railways runs two overnight trains which both calls here.

Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.