To get to Ramallah from Jerusalem take a service (shared taxi) from the main road running past Damascus gate. At the moment this costs 3 shekels. It is also possible to take services to Ramallah from most of the large Palestinian towns.
As you head north on the road from Jerusalem to Ramallah you pass over Mount Scopus, first coming to Shu'fat. The ancient village of Shu'fat is the site of Nob (1 Samuel 21). 11 km south of Ramallah, this is close to the site of Biblical Gibeah, Saul's citadel on the summit of Tel el-Ful (hill of beans) which overlooks the Land of Benjamin, the Dead Sea and the Hills of Moab. Today the village is dominated by a refugee camp with a population of over 5000 displaced Palestinians. In the distance you can see Nabi Samwil, the tomb of the Prophet Samuel.
About 6 km south of Ramallah, passing through the Ar-Ram checkpoint you move into the West Bank, the area occupied by Israel in 1967, and now comprising of a patchwork pattern of semi-autonomous Palestinian areas side by side with areas still under full Israeli occupation. Ram has been argued to be both Rama, the home, birth place and burial site of the Prophet Samuel, and Harama, the home of the prophetess Deborah. Today it is known solely for its Israeli checkpoint and the nearby Women's Studies Centre in the Al-Hirbawi building.
To the left, further on is what used to be the Jerusalem airport which had flights to and from all the international airports in the Middle East. Today it is only used by the Israeli military. Nearby is Qalandia refugee camp.
Three kilometres south of Ramallah on the eastern (right hand) side of the road is Tel al-Nisbah, the Old Testament Mizpah. It was here that the Israelites defeated the Philistines (1 Samuel 7) after Samuel had sacrificed on their behalf, and it is also the place where Saul was proclaimed king (1 Samuel 10). The site was excavated in the 1930s and has been dated to the Bronze Age, however it is somewhat unspectacular, with the ruins of the town including a wall and gate dated to the 9th century BC.
A little way to the north, situated on an ancient highway, Al-Bireh is strategically placed and consequently has a long history of settlement. It was the ancient Beeroth of Benjamin (2 Samuel 4) and was known by the Canaanites as 'Be'rut' meaning wells and by the Romans as 'Berea.' It was here that, according to Christian tradition, Joseph and Mary rested during their journey from Jerusalem to Galilee only to find that Jesus was missing. The location of the original city centre is today marked by the remains of a Crusader church alongside what is now the main road between Al-Bireh and Nablus.
16 km north of Jerusalem you pass through an arch welcoming you to Al-Bireh and turn left, entering the city of Ramallah.