Jordan is enchanting 

A long-cherished wish came true and we could finally travel to Jordan. We travelled mid October and the climate is very pleasant at this time of year. Jordan is a country of hikers and historians, scientists and culture lovers, nature fanatics and yoga-fans. Whatever your thing, you'll find your soulmate here. But one thing is certain, if you ever get the chance, you have to see Jordan with your own eyes...

Here is our itinerary.. (road-trip of 4 days)

Day 1: Queen Alia International Airport Amman - Mount Nebo - Dead Sea - Ma’in Hot Springs - Wadi AlMujib - Wadi Dana Biosphere Reserve.

Total km: 225

Overnight: Dana Tower Hotel

Completed road trip Jordan: approx. 700 km

Car rental: Sixth

Jordan wanderer pass including Jordan visa on arrival, 70 JOD

Travel to Jordan: declaration form

Day 1

We landed in Amman at 7am (after a 3-hour flight from Dubai) and after our car rental pick up, we went straight to Mount Nebo, mentioned in the Old Testament as the place where Moses was granted a view of the Promised Land before his death. The view from the summit offers a panorama of the West Bank across the Jordan Valley. The city of Jericho is usually visible from the summit, as is Jerusalem on a very clear day.

After visiting this sacred place, a coffee and breakfast, we hit the road again for a salty float at the lowest point on earth - the Dead Sea. We went for a swim, but got no further than bobbing on our backs. To wash off the salt, we jumped into Ma'in hot springs, with several waterfalls, each with a temperature of 30-37 degrees in a Roman bath setting. We bought some snacks at the local shop to keep us going to our finish destination for the day.

We stopped at Wadi Almujib, a beauty among all the wadis we saw. We ended the day with a perfect sunset over Wadi Dana Biosphere Reserve and stayed overnight at Dana Tower Hotel. This hotel was built in the ruins of Dana, after the earthquake in the early 1900s. Dana is an example of what Arab villages looked like in the late 1800s. Located within the Dana Biosphere Reserve, the once abandoned village has been given a second life in recent years by a growing ecotourism sector. We stayed in one of the former houses that have been restored into a cute ecolodge.

Day 2

The day started magnificent with a beautiful sunrise over of the Wadi Araba wilderness at Jordan’s Dana Biosphere Reserve. After a local breakfast, we headed over King’s highway (35), a road that has been traveled for 5000 years, for the highlight of this trip, the ancient city, or "the lost city of Petra', in Wadi Musa, which dates back to 312 BC. Rediscovered by John William Burgon in 1845, describing Petra as follows:

“It seems no work of Man's creative hand, by labour wrought as wavering fancy planned. But from the rock as if by magic grown, eternal, silent, beautiful, alone.…. a rose-red city half as old as time“. (Johann Ludwig Burckhardt) 

We decided to hike from the North gate to Petra Visitors Center which starts in ‘little Petra’, as the name suggests, is Petra's smaller sister. A 4x4 jeep dropped us off (after quite a long drive through the desert) at the higher north gate where ‘the back door hiking route to the Monastery‘ begins. A tough hike (+/-2 km) on the ridge of the mountains, that mesmerized us with stunning views Wadi Araba around each corner and over every peak. Donkeys were there to help us but we wanted to do this ourselves. After about a 45-minute hike, we reached The Monastery, where we took a little break at the cute 'As Deir' café to soak in this serene place.

From here we hopped on the Ad-Deir monastery trail (+/-2 km) to the ancient city of Petra, which is over 2000 years old, and The Qasr al-Bint, a religious temple in the Nabataean city of Petra. This trail led us down 900 steps and it felt like a pilgrimage with so many people going up and down the monastery trail. Along the way we passed several stalls where merchants tried to sell their Arabic souvenirs and goods.

After arriving at the ancient city of Petra, we followed the main trail (+/-4 km) via Colonnaded Street to the Treasury, taking in the Great temple, the Theatre and the Royal Tombs. This breathtaking UNESCO site, which is one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, is truly magical, almost unreal to us. We continued on through the gorgeous Siq, a narrow gorge that leads to the Petra Visitor Center. After this rewarding 8 km walk, we went to Over Mountains Hotel where we had booked a room. Ahmad, the owner, was already waiting for us with tea and Jordanian sweets. We had a fantastic dinner at Al Wadi Restaurant in Petra, which was within walking distance of our hotel. 

Day 3

After a delicious breakfast (with pancakes), we jumped in the car on our way to our final destination of this road trip: Wadi Rum, also known as the ‘Valley of the Moon’ or ‘Mars on Earth’. With reddish sand and mountains looking like the arid, red surface of Mars, Wadi Rum is a Hollywood favorite for movies set on the red planet. We booked a private jeep and our driver Ahmad showed us all beautiful spots such as Lawrence’s Spring, Burrah Canyon, Little Bridge, Mushroom Rock and Um Frouth Rock Arch. We enjoyed sunset at the red sand dunes area, which was beautiful. We stayed overnight in a Bedouin tent at Rahayed Desert Camp in Wadi Rum. Dinner here was really great! As well as the starry sky in the dark night.

Day 4

We got up at 6:30am to watch the sunrise. Just beautiful! Then we had breakfast at the camp and packed the bags for our return trip to Dubai. From Wadi Rum we drove one line back to the airport! On the way we bought a lunch snack and returned our rental car (sixth). At 16:45 we flew back to Dubai! It was a perfect road trip, filled with rich history, extreme nature, biblical stories, adventure and lots of laughter. Petra was only one of the many highlights on this action-packed trip.