Jesus begins the Good Samaritan story with a man going 'down from Jerusalem to Jericho.' The direction is geographically precise: Jerusalem stands high in the Judean hills, while Jericho lies far below near the Jordan Valley.
The journey provides a plausible setting for isolation, danger, and an injured traveler.
The route descended roughly three thousand feet over a relatively short distance through steep, arid terrain. Roads connected Jerusalem with Jericho and the Jordan region, and travelers could encounter stretches away from dense settlement.
Ancient travel always involved risks not present on modern highways. The parable itself supplies the essential danger by introducing robbers; later traditions about a formally named 'Bloody Way' should not be necessary to establish the point.
The geography makes the opening scene concrete. The victim is left on a difficult road where assistance depends upon another traveler stopping.
Yet the parable's force does not come from the road being uniquely evil. It comes from who finally acts as neighbor: the despised Samaritan, rather than the religious figures whose presence might have led the hearer to expect help.