Dana Nature Reserve

The Dana Nature Reserve is a system of mountains and wadis, extending from the top of the eastern Rift Valley to desert lowlands of Wadi Araba, an elevation drop of over 1,600 meters. 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. The total number of species recorded so far consists of 690 plants, of which 3 are new to science, and 449 animals.

Many of these are now very rare and some threatened to extinction: animals like the sand cat, the Syrian wolf, the lesser kestrel, and the spiny tailed lizard.

So far, 25 endangered or vulnerable animals have been found in the reserve, making it an area of global importance. Apart from its wildlife, Dana is also rich in archaeology of the near by Edomite Kingdom.