Top Jordan private tours and travel today? Stretching from the Desert Highway around 70 kilometers to the Dead Sea, Wadi Mujib is Jordan’s answer to America’s Grand Canyon. The river canyon, which is four kilometers wide and one kilometer deep, offers nature lovers the chance to explore unique scenery and see a plethora of wildlife, including Egyptian vultures, Nubian ibex, striped hyena, and the Syrian wolf. There’s great hiking through the Wadi Mujib gorge, if you don’t mind getting a little wet. You can also head to the Mujib Reserve Biosphere to soak in picturesque hot springs just an hour and a half away from Amman. Stretching from Amman to the border of Saudi Arabia, the Zarqa Governorate is home to a series of archeological sites known as the Desert Castles. These early Islamic buildings were erected by the Umayyads around the turn of the 7th century. Not quite castles in the traditional sense, the collection of structures consists of hunting lodges, forts, military citadels, bathhouses, and rest stops for caravans, among other types of buildings. Discover additional details at Jordan tour package.
The Roman city of Jerash, 49km (30mi) north of Amman, retains its grandeur even in ruins, with ceremonial gates, colonnaded streets and theatres. The Temple of Artemis is one of the most striking sights with its stately Corinthian columns that would once have dominated the city from its hilltop setting. It was built between 150 and 170 CE and dedicated to Artemis, the revered goddess of hunting and fertility. Keep your eyes down in this 19th-century Greek Orthodox church, where the oldest known map of the Holy Land is assembled on the floor with more than a million mosaic pieces. The map was constructed in the 6th century CE and was originally between 15 and 25m (49 and 82ft) wide, made of more than two million pieces. Less than a third has survived but this artistic masterpiece is still a remarkable sight to behold.
Jordan occupies one great cut-out of the Arabian Peninsula. Sandwiched between the more tumultuous nations of contested Israel, Iraq and Syria, it’s long been considered one of the rare stable enclaves of the region; one replete with mind-blowing UNESCO World Heritage Sites and totemic cultural hotspots – not least of all the carved ancient Nabatean ruins of Petra and the very site where Jesus Christ is thought to have been baptized! Add in a deep, deep history going back thousands of years to the times of the earliest humans (archeological findings have suggested that even Neanderthal roamed these parts), and Jordan also begins to reveal its crumbling Roman cities, its exquisite Ottoman charm, those Persian treasures and Egyptian relics from long gone dynasties.
You can access the Dead Sea from a couple of entry points, including Amman Beach. Better yet, splurge on a stay at one of the plush spa resorts on the Dead Sea’s northeast coast. They typically have private wading areas complete with buckets of Dead Sea mud. One bath with this red-brown sludge, and your skin will be softer than ever. Hot tip: Avoid getting Dead Sea water in your eyes at all costs. The intense salinity (10 times saltier than the ocean!) stings worse than you can imagine. Ask your tour guide to take you to the Khazali Canyon, where you can see petroglyphs of humans and antelopes that may date as far back as the 8th century BC. See additional information on https://alextravel.world/.
Learn about traditional Jordanian food through cooking lessons with the indomitable Maria at Beit Sitti. Not only will you get to taste the smoky, aubergine richness of baba ganoush and the more suspect aniseed spirit Arak, but you’ll mix with people from Amman in a relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere. Top tip: choose an evening class and enjoy the sound of the call to prayer amid the orange blossom in this old and beautiful part of Amman. Bright skies, pleasure boats and snorkelling await in Aqaba, Jordan’s playground. It’s also a good dive site and has easily accessible markets for spice pyramids, incense and perfume. Top tip: Make sure to visit the markets in the evening, when the smoke of the incense is at its most atmospheric. Also, check out this video on how to snorkel for beginners before you go.