14 Day Trekking Tour
of Jordan:
Itinerary #1
Amman - Al Balad - Jebel Al Qala'a – Umm
Qais (Gadara) – Ajlun (Ar Rabad Castle) -
Jerash – Madaba - Greek Orthodox Church of
St. George- Mount Nebo – Dana Nature Reserve
- Petra - Siq Al Barid (Little Petra) – Al
Beidha - Wadi Rum - Dead Sea
Day 1
Queen Alia International Airport – Amman –
Al Balad - Jebel Al Qala'a
Upon arrival at the airport and we will
transfer to take a short city tour then to
the hotel in
Amman
to check in for dinner, and overnight.
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Day 2
Amman - Umm Qais (Gadara) – Ajlun (Ar Rabad
Castle) - Jerash – Madaba
Then after breakfast we will visit
Umm Qais
(Gadara)
a spectacular city, established by the
Greeks, and re-used by the Romans.
It has a stunning black basalt theatre, a
colonnaded main street and spectacular views
of the Jordan Valley, the Sea of Galilee,
and the Golan Heights.
A 45 minute drive will take us to
Ajlun
, a forested area where we visit the castle
of
Ajlun
(Ar Rabad Castle).
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Though looking like a Crusader fortress,
Ajlun
(Ar Rabad Castle)
was actually built by Muslims in 1184 as a
military fort and buffer to protect the
region from invading Crusader forces.
We continue to
Jerash
,
Jerash
is one of the best preserved Roman cities in
the world; it offers extensive and
breathtaking ruins of colonnaded streets,
arches, temples, and baths in a remarkable
state of preservation and completeness.
After this we drive you to the
Madaba
for dinner and overnight.
Day 3
Greek Orthodox Church of St. George- Mount
Nebo – Dana Nature Reserve
After breakfast in
Madaba
we well see the 6th
century mosaic map at Saint George’s Church.
Madaba
is a Christian town and
holds some amazing mosaics within its
churches.
We shall view the most famous mosaic, which
is housed at the contemporary Greek Orthodox
Church of St. George and depicts the Holy
Land.
This is a wonderfully vivid 6th Century
mosaic map, comprising two million pieces of
colored stones showing the entire region
from
Jordan,
Palestine in the
north, and
Egypt
in the south.
It is fun to spend a while picking out the
various cities and admiring the little
vignettes the artist incorporated into the
map.
From
Madaba
we will drive 10km
up the hill to reach
Mount
Nebo, a very
important Christian site, recently visited
by the Pope.
It was here, on the edge of the ridge
overlooking the
Dead Sea,
that Moses first caught sight of the Holy
Land, having led his people from
Sinai.
It is said that Moses also died and was
buried here. The West Bank city of
Jericho
is usually visible from
the summit of
Mount
Nebo, as is
Jerusalem on a very
clear day.
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Mount
Nebo
, the memorial or the
Prophet Moses and the place where he viewed
the promise land, after
this
we will drive via King’s
way to the
Dana
Natural Reserve for
dinner and overnight.
Day 4
Dana Nature Reserve – Petra
We will spend a full day hiking in the
Dana
Natural Reserve, then
to
Petra
for dinner and
overnight.
Day 5
Petra
After breakfast you start your first full
day exploration of the red-rose city of
Petra.
It is the legacy of the
Nabataeans, an
industrious Arab people who settled in
southern Jordan more than 2,000 years ago.
Admired then for its refined culture,
massive architecture and ingenious complex
of dams and water channels,
Petra
is a UNESCO world
heritage site and this year it was voted one
of the New 7 Wonders of the World.
The site contains refined culture, massive
architecture and an ingenious complex of
dams and water channels. Our guided tour of
this unique and unforgettable site commences
with by walking, or riding on horseback, to
the entrance of a narrow canyon (Siq).
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The Siq is a dramatic 1.2 kilometer narrow
and winding fissure between towering cliffs,
the colors of which change through the day
according to the shadow play of the sun.
Leaving the Siq through a tiny cleft, we
will be confronted by the magnificence of
Petra's most elaborate ruin, Al Khazneh (The
Treasury) hewn into the sandstone cliff.
Local legend has it that the Treasury once
stored the gifts of the Queen of Sheba to
Solomon.
We proceed to the Royal section of
Petra
which includes
houses and shops, a colonnaded street and a
Theatre as well as spectacular tombs all set
into the rose-red rock face.
Petra
is like a wonderful
dream from which you never wish to wake!
We will also walk up the 800 steps to view
the vast and impressive Monastery (Al Deir),
which enjoys fabulous views over the whole
area and a mountain atmosphere. The
following day, you are free to do whatever
you wish.
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Maybe to explore
Petra
in more detail,
walking up to experience the views around
the High Place of Sacrifice (Al Madbah) on
the Attuf Ridge once the venue for
sacrificial offerings, which gives wonderful
views over the Petra Basin and out towards
Wadi Sabra.
For the even more energetic, we could embark
on a full-day hike up Jebel Haroun to see
the tomb of Aaron, brother of Prophet Moses.
You enter the site through the narrow (Siq),
or canyon and the exploration of the site
will take in many of the over 800 individual
monuments, including buildings, tombs,
baths, funerary halls, temples, arched
gateways, and colonnaded streets.
That was mostly carved from the
kaleidoscopic sandstone by the inhabitant's
centuries ago. The first 2 hours of your
visit a local guide will tell you about the
history of the ancient city.
In the late afternoon return to the hotel
for dinner and overnight.
Day 6
Petra
We will spend another full day in
Petra,
here you can go to the site by your own to
walk in and take more photos, then have
dinner and stay overnight at the same hotel.
Day 7
Petra - Siq Al Barid (Little Petra) – Al
Beidha - Wadi Rum
After breakfast at the hotel we will drive
for around: 10 minutes from the main gate of
Petra
to
Siq Al
Barid (Little Petra)
the suburbs of the ancient city and stop at
the
Neolithic settlement
of
Al
Beidha.
One of the earliest human settlement in the
world, then to
Wadi Rum
to discover the area of
the Moon Valley hiking for the rest of the
day tracing Lawrence of Arabia foot steps
then have dinner and stay overnight.
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In this day we use the jeep; to transfer to
Wadi Rum,
as we need it to be with us during the
hiking to carry the camping equipment
(sleeping bags, tents, food) and also for
any emergency, so it is necessary that the
jeep be in use and we can drop it near the
camp site while hiking in case we need it.
Day 8 - 10
Wadi Rum
We will spend a full three days hiking in
Wadi Rum
around the camp and
discover the area, dinner and camping in the
openness.
Day 11
Wadi Rum - Dead Sea
In this day, after breakfast we will do you
a morning trekking around the campsite, then
we drive to the
Dead Sea
the lowest point in the
world for floating and leisurely time,
dinner, and overnight at the
Dead Sea.
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Day 12
Dead Sea - Amman
We will spend a full day in the
Dead Sea
for leisure and
floating, drive you to
Amman
for dinner and overnight
at the hotel.
Day 13
Amman
We will spend a full day in
Amman
then have dinner and
stay overnight at the same hotel.
Day 14
Amman – Queen Alia International Airport
After breakfast we will then transfer from
Amman
to the airport for
departure with farewell.
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