Description

Ein Fara is considered one of the best sport climbing sites in the Middle East, both for the quality and the quantity of the climbing and for the spectacular location. Ein Fara, known as “Ein Prat” by the Israelis, was first developed as a climbing site in the 1980s when some Israeli climbers opened the first mixed routes (trad/ sport). In the 1990s and 2000s sport climbing development increased and many new, beautiful routes were equipped. Israeli climbing activity in the West Bank was made possible by the military occupation of the West Bank that began in 1967 and the rapid expansion of Israel's colonization of Palestinian land.Today, the potential for climbing development of the valley is still huge, both for rope climbing and bouldering. Unfortunately, the "Israeli National Park Authority," whose authority in this area is illegitimate by international law, has banned the development of any additional climbing outside the signposted areas.

Access to the climbing area is a sensitive issue: There are three ways to enter the climbing area and, like many things in the West Bank, how you can access it depends on your ID and ethno-religious background. Once you reach the gate of the Anatot settlement, access to West Bank Palestinians and green-plated Palestinian cars is forbidden. Foreigners, Israelis and Jerusalemites are allowed to enter the settlement in yellow-plated Israeli cars. Palestinians, therefore, have two options: drive around the settlement on an unmarked dirt road (as described on the Access page) or park outside the gates of the Anatot settlement and hike down for about 45 minutes to the climbing area.

Many internationals and Palestinians opt for (or are forced to choose) the longer hike into the valley to avoid paying the 30 NIS fee charged by the Israeli Parks Authority and to not financially support the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land. Furthermore, the hike offers spectacular views of the wadi and surrounding walls.

All in all, there are more than 130 routes in Ein Fara equally distributed over two areas: the Northern Cliff and the Southern Cliff. Unfortunately a large number of existing climbs have been closed by the Israeli National Parks Authority. In the past, other developed sectors even had their bolts chopped! If you are caught climbing in any of the closed sectors, expect to pay a fine of 300 NIS or more.

History

Ein Fara is the westernmost, upstream part of Wadi Qelt; a beautiful and, in parts, lush valley connecting the central West Bank with the Jordan Valley. It was once the main source of water and grazing land for the Bedouin and Palestinian villagers living east of Jerusalem.

After 1967 and the occupation of the West Bank by the State of Israel, the “designation of use” of the surrounding lands was changed so that Ein Fara is now declared a “Israeli Nature Reserve” towered over by the illegal Israeli settlement of Anatot. This, despite the fact that Ein Fara is located past the "Green Line" deep within the West Bank. Access to natural resources and the use of land is now severely limited for Palestinians in these areas.

A number of people have contributed enormous time and energy to the development of Ein Fara. Among them are: Andrea Anati, Gili Tenne, Leron Axelrod, Nir P., Yoav Nir, Arik Lerner, Yotam Orchan, Tal Niv, Itay Levine, Dima Stragnov, Nimrod Nachmias, Omer Shavit, Yonatav Barlev, Moti Elkalai, and Ofer Blutrich.

Ein Fara

Climbing has been limited!

🚗
From Jerusalem (15 min. by car): Leave the city through the Hizma (Pisgat Ze’ev) military checkpoint and take a right at the first roundabout towards Jericho. After about 1 kilometre, you will reach a junction with a brown signpost on your left indicating the way to Ein Fara (it is referred to as “Ein Prat” on the signpost). Take a left and drive until you reach the entry gate of the Israeli settlement of Anatot (Almon).

🚗
From Ramallah (20 min. by car): Drive south past Qalandia checkpoint and continue past the Jaba checkpoint until you reach a junction (Jaba circle). Take a sharp right at the circle towards Hizma and Jerusalem. When you reach the next roundabout just before the Hizma checkpoint, continue south (left) towards Jericho. From there on follow the instructions above. If you are driving a green-plated Palestinian car or you are with Palestinians from the West Bank (green IDs), you ARE NOT allowed by the Israeli authorities to enter the Anatot settlement. If you want to drive into the park instead of hiking there then ignore the left turn to “Ein Prat” and continue dtraight for another 300 to 400 meters until a dirt road appears on your left. Caution, the dirt road is rough but if it is dry you do not need a 4x4. Drive down the winding dirt road for about 10 minutes until you reach the entrance gate of the Ein Fara nature reserve.

The three ways to enter the park are described below:

Walking option (note: if you hike down and don’t want to pay the entrance fee you can only climb at the Southern Wall, since the Northern Wall is located within the boundaries of the park area patrolled by park rangers): Anyone is allowed to walk down on the hiking trail towards Ein Fara by which you can avoid paying the entrance fee.

Park on the right side of the road just before the yellow gate. Cross the road and walk northwards along the settlement fence. It is possible that armed guards at the settlement will be watching you but you are not breaking the “law.” After a few minutes you will reach a trail with green and white markers that descends into the valley for about 25 minutes. At the end of a flat walking section (200 to 300 meters) leave the marked path and walk down to the left towards the visible cliff at the next corner of the valley (total time to reach the Southern Wall: 30-45 min.) Climbing at the Southern Wall does not required the payment of the entry fee. If you keep walking down to the Northern Wall, you are supposed to pay the entrance to the Israeli Parks Authorities. There is a ranger station by the parking lot in the bottom of the valley (past the climbing areas), where you may be allowed to pay although the official place to pay is at the vehicular entrance to the park (described below).

Driving Option (for foreigners, Israelis, Jerusalemites/ Israeli vehicles): Yellow plated cars (registered in Israel) are allowed to drive through the Anatot settlement to reach the entrance of the “Ein Prat” nature park. After passing through the settlement, pay the fee, and drive down into the park.