Jerusalem Hills

The hills around Jerusalem offer some great biking routes, with challenging hills. This route includes two major climbs with steep sections, some breathtaking views of the parks around Jerusalem, and a stop in one of the cyclist best know coffee-stops in Israel (Bar Bahar).

We start in the town of Bet Shemesh in the Big shopping mall. When we arrived on Friday morning, it was all closed which meant lots of parking places. Leave the parking taking a left in the roundabout towards road 3855 so you have a little bit of warm up before the climb. Make sure you stay on Yigal Alon avenue until you reach the roundabout with road 3855. Take a left there.

Continue towards the main road (38) and take a right. This is a busy, main road, but there is a bicycle path in parts of it, which I recommend you take. Don't miss the exit towards road 395... Continue straight on the first roundabout, and then left on 395... You are now into your first climb towards Kibbutz Tsoba.

The road starts with a steep 2km section averaging 10% grade, and reaching 15-16% at times. It then has some beautiful sections, although they may be narrow at times. Continue climbing towards Ramat Raziel, and then it turns into rolling hills all the way to Tsoba. You can enjoy the achievement in the small coffee shop in the area on your right.

Wear your wind breaker, as you are now onto a nice downhill with gorgeous views of the hills surrounding the Hadassah Hospital and the golden capped church nearby.

When you get to the Kerem Junction, take a right towards Bet Shemesh. The road continues with a softer downhill, passing the Sataf park until you get to a short 3km climb with a 5% average grade. No worries... This takes you to the Bar Bahar coffee stop, taking a right in the intersection that points towards the stalactite caves, and then another right to the coffee place. On the weekends, this place is packed with cyclists and other visitors that want to enjoy the views and the peace of the hills. You can use the bathrooms and fill your water bottles as well.

If you haven't had enough climbing, you can exit the coffee place to your right, going first downhill for about 10kms to the bottom roundabout and then go back on your tracks towards Nes Harim.

Although there are less extremely steep sections in this climb, it does have a three kilometer stretch average more than 8%. Once you get to the entrace to the stalactite caves, it softens up.

Back to the Nes Harim junction, take a right towards Tsu Hadassah, and another right at the intersection towards Bet Shemesh. This will be a nice downhill... No more climbs for today.

At the end of the downhill, take a right towards Mahseya on road 3855. This is a mostly downhill 6 kilometer stretch, with a little more traffic, but wide shoulders for the most part. Take a left towards the Bet Shemesh industrial area (back on Yigal Alon street). Continue towards the Big shopping mall where you might enjoy a coffee or a meal in one of the restaurants in the area (not on Shabbat).