14 Day Hiking Tour

of Jordan:

Itinerary #2

Amman - Umm Qais (Gadara) – Ajlun (Ar Rabad Castle) - Jerash – Madaba - Greek Orthodox Church of St. George - Mount Nebo – Dana Nature Reserve - Wadi Araba - Wadi Feinan - Edomite Kingdom - Petra - Siq Al Barid (Little Petra) – Al Beidha - Wadi Rum - Dead Sea - Jebel al Qal'a - Al Balad - Kan Zeman Village

Day 1

Queen Alia International Airport - Amman

You will be met on arrival at Queen Alia International Airport and transferred to a hotel in Amman in time for your evening meal.

Day 2

Amman – Umm Qais (Gadara) – Ajlun (Ar Rabad Castle) - Jerash - Madaba

Today we will be sightseeing north of Amman taking in Hellenistic-Roman City of Jerash, Ajlun (Ar Rabad Castle), and Umm Qais.

Jerash, is located 48 kilometers from Amman, has been dubbed the 'Pompeii of the East' due to it being one of the world's largest and most well-preserved sites of Roman architecture outside of Italy.

Jerash's colonnaded streets, baths, theatres, plazas, and arches remain in exceptional condition and make the city an extremely interesting place to look around.

Next, we will visit Ajlun to see the 12th Century Saracen Castle built by one of Saladin's lieutenants and used in the military campaign against the Crusaders before driving them to Umm Qais, which is situated 110km north of Amman and once known as Gadara which means fortification.

A 45-minute drive will take us to Umm Qais (Gadara), once one of the most brilliant ancient Hellenistic-Roman cities of the Decapolis and, according to the Bible, the spot where Jesus cast out devils from two demoniacs (mad men) into a herd of pigs.

Umm Qais has a stunning black basalt theatre and a colonnaded main street and is situated on a broad promontory 378 meters above sea level that enjoys a magnificent view over the Golan Heights, Lake Tiberius (Sea of Galilee) and Jebel al Sheikh in both Lebanon and Syria.

From Umm Qais we will drive via the scenic King's Way to Madaba, 'City of Mosaics' in time for our evening meal and overnight stay.

Day 3

Greek Orthodox Church of St. George – Mount Nebo – Dana Nature Reserve

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.

We will continue our drive, to the Dana Nature Reserve where we will enjoy a traditional Arabian dinner and spend the night in a pastoral environment.

Day 4

Dana Nature Reserve – Wadi Araba - Wadi Feinan - Edomite Kingdom - Petra

After breakfast at our hotel we will spend the remainder of our day hiking through the Dana Nature Reserve.

The Dana Nature Reserve is a system of mountains and wadi's, dry riverbeds.

The height within the reserve drops over 1600 meters from the tops of the Rift Valley to the desert lowlands of Wadi Araba.

It embraces two major bio-geographical zones and four distinct vegetation zones.

This condensed variety of landforms and habitats, combined with dramatic changes in elevation, results in a vast biological diversity: from white sands covered with fanciful acacia trees to small streams flanked by man-size oleander bushes; from sky-high sand dunes to barren basalt and granite rocks.

The Dana Nature Reserve area is also rich in archaeology and culture near Wadi Feinan.

We will visit the remains of the ancient capital of the Edomite Kingdom; two early Christian churches and the ruins of the Roman water system.

Late in the afternoon, we will drive to our hotel in Petra in time for dinner and an overnight stay.

Day 5 & 6

Petra

Petra is a treasure of the ancient world and definitely a highlight of any trip to Jordan.

It is hidden behind an almost impenetrable barrier of rugged mountains and boasts incomparable scenes making it perhaps the most majestic and imposing ancient site still standing today.

It is the legacy of the Nabataeans, an industrious Arab people who settled in southern Jordan more than 2,000 years ago and who carved their new capital out of the rose-red Sharah Mountains.

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).

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.

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.

Alternatively, you could simply kickback and enjoy a well-earned relaxing Turkish bath in the local hammam.

Both nights will be spent in a hotel in Petra.

Day 7 - 10

Petra - Siq Al Barid (Little Petra) – Al Beidha - Wadi Rum

After breakfast at our hotel we drive for around 10 minutes from the main gate of Petra to Siq Al Barid (Little Petra), in the suburbs of the ancient city.

Siq Al Barid (Little Petra) provides an atmospheric summary of Nabataean tomb architecture.

The area was once a major caravanserai stop for the Nabataean capital and comes complete with its own mini-Siq, 350 meters in length crammed with tombs, triclinums, water channels, and cisterns.

We will then visit nearby Al Beidha, which contains the remains of a Neolithic site, dating back to 7,500 BC, making it one of the earliest known co-operative villages on earth.

This is a wonderful experience which, with a little imagination, can feel like living back in prehistoric times!

After Al Beidha we return to the jeep for our drive to Wadi Rum. For the next few days we will be hiking in one of the most beautiful desertscapes in the world.

Travel in Wadi Rum is a journey to another world, where one can escape the worries of everyday life and return to nature and the simple life.

Vast, silent and timeless, in this immense space, man is dwarfed into insignificance. Rock carvings mark the passage of ancient tribes in pre-history.

Thamudic inscriptions, burial mounds, ancient megaliths, and ruined buildings abound and Nabataean rock carved stairways, dams and temples can still be found throughout the area.

Wadi Rum is perhaps best known because of its connection with Lawrence of Arabia and we will follow in the enigmatic British officer's footsteps as we walk through this surreal moonscape. In the evening we will stay in tents in the glorious desert.

Our Bedouin hosts will cook traditional, freshly prepared, local food and there will be a campfire which we can gather round with our cardamom coffee or mint tea and contemplate the clear star-studded desert sky.

Day 11 & 12

Wadi Rum - Dead Sea - Amman

We will take breakfast and then have one last walk in the Wadi Rum area before driving to the Dead Sea, the lowest spot on earth at some 400 meters below sea-level.

We have two days to enjoy the Dead Sea resort at our leisure. This is plenty of time to float in the mineral-rich water and to relax on the private beach.

The therapeutic sticky black-mud treatment, packed full of minerals and nutrients, comes highly recommended.

We will stay one night at the Dead Sea and drive back to Amman late on the second afternoon reaching our hotel in time for our evening meal.

Day 13

Amman - Jebel al Qala'a - Al Balad - Kan Zeman Village

After breakfast at the hotel we will enjoy a morning tour of Amman, Jordan's capital city.

We will visit the national folklore museum and the archaeological museum which boasts an excellent collection of antiquities ranging from prehistoric times to the 15th century, including an exhibit of the Dead Sea Scrolls and four Iron Age anthromorphic coffins.

We will then tour Al Balad, or Downtown, the oldest area of Amman.

This area contains Jebel al Qala'a which is a Citadel comprising a patchwork of Roman, Byzantine, and Islamic remains which overlooks a large Roman theatre, which once seated 5,000 spectators.

You are free to spend the afternoon at your leisure, perhaps remaining in Al Balad, where the small traders sell everything from fabulous jewelry to household items. It is a great place to browse the interesting shops and to pick up a bargain if you are prepared to haggle hard.

In the evening we visit Kan Zeman Village for our last night of our holiday. We will enjoy a delicious traditional meal and a folklore show from a local group.

We will stay overnight in our hotel in Amman.

Day 14

Queen Alia International Airport - Amman

After breakfast we will transfer you to the airport in time for check-in for your flight home. We will bid you a fond farewell. It has been a great trip!