Sites of Jordan page 3 The Kings' Highway, Kerak, Wadi Mujib and Dana

Towns and Tourist Sites in Jordan -
The Kings' Highway, Kerak, Wadi Mujib
and Dana

Don't confuse this with the "Desert Highway" which is the main north-south highway nowadays in Jordan. The Kings' Highway is a very spectacular route which was the original north-south road from Biblical times until recently, today it is largely unused by through traffic which takes the Desert Highway. The Kings' Highway is neither cost nor time friendly for traffic, and unsurprisingly, there is no public transport that runs for all of its length; even the half dozen successive local buses that cover it now have a gap at Wadi Mujib. There have been many improvements to it over the last few years, and although it remains a twisting mountainous road, the surface is better and it is a little bit wider.

If you want to drive it, and it is well worth the effort, then you must use a rental car or the bus that runs fairly regularly in season from Madaba (qv). Hitching is also a possibility, but you should be prepared to ride in several cars. If you do drive it, allow a whole day, especially if you stop to visit the various sites on the way : Hamamet Ma'in, the castle at Kerak, Wadi Mujib and Wadi Hasa and Dana. This is quite a difficult drive; if you cannot share the driving, try to schedule a less arduous day afterwards. Note that in bad weather, high winds, rain or snow, the Kings' Highway becomes dangerous, and is usually closed.

Many of the canyons of the Kings' Highway can be visited by canyoning enthusiasts - see the web page on "Canyoning in Jordan". In particular Wadi Mujib is one of the Nature Reserves of Jordan with a highly organised (and popular) trekking programme.

There are some more photos of Wadi Mujib on the Photo Gallery pages.

Situated on the Kings' Highway, Kerak is chiefly known for its castle, one of the chain of "Crusader Castles" which once stretched from Turkey to the Egyptian border. These castles were supposed to be in line of sight of the next one along, and to be able to pass a message from Aqaba to the Turkish border in less than twelve hours, using a heliograph or light signals at night.

Wadi Mujib

There are some more photos of Wadi Mujib on the Photo Gallery pages
and a full description of the Nature Reserve of Wadi Mujib in the "Jordan out of doors" section

A spectacular canyon [sometimes called "the Grand Canyon of the Middle East") crossed by the Kings' Highway, this area is now a Nature Reserve, administered by the Jordanian Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature http://www.middleeast.com/mujib.htm. It is well over 500m deep and runs down from the mountains to the Dead Sea. For those interested in exploring a dramatic site and seeing some of the rare birds and plants to be found there, the RSCN organises treks through the canyon. See the page on the Nature Reserve for some descriptions of these. If you are interested in "canyoning" see also the page on "Canyoning in Jordan"

The entrance to the Reserve and the RSCN office are close to the Dead Sea, just beside the bridge which crosses the Wadi, and you can get full information there. There is another entrance at Faqa'a close to the Kings' Highway, but you must have reserved a trekking tour to be able to enter here. There is a map of the Nature Reserve and the trails there at the Wadi Mujib Map page.

Dana, some 20 kms south of Tafileh on the Kings' Highway, is quite beautiful. It is a nature reserve in a spectacular valley, there is a difference of 1500m between the floor of the valley and the hills around it. There are two cheap hotels: the Dana Hotel (email sdqe@nets.com.jo phone/fax +962.3.227.0537) which is run as a village cooperative and which deserves support, and the Dana Tower Hotel (e-mail at dana_tower2@hotmail.com by phone at: 00962-795-688.853 or fax at: 00962.3.227.0237) - both come with good recommendations) and the Guesthouse (Tel +962.3.227.0497 Fax +962.3.227.0498), from the terrace of which one has a gorgeous view. They have an email address but I am told that they don't reply to emails! If you want to try anyway here it is : dhana@rscn.org.jo. [Send a fax as well, huh?] It isn't all that easy to get there, you should take a bus from either Amman or Ma'an to Tafileh, and there is a shuttle bus from there. Dana is about 40kms from Petra, but no direct public transport links the two [a pity], you would have to go back to Tafileh and from there to Ma'an. One thing about the difficulty of access is that it is much less frequented than would otherwise be the case.

In fact this is yet another ancient village in Jordan which was falling into abandon. The only water had to be brought in on donkeyback from a spring higher up on the mountain and several miles away. One of the first things the RSCN did was to run a conduit to the village from the spring, which encouraged a few of the older people to stay on. The Reserve is providing employment for many of the younger ones, who otherwise would have joined the exodus.

The official brochure says : " Dana is a world of natural treasures containing a wealth of natural scenery, ancient ruins and a large number of flora and fauna, some only indigenous to the area. The Dana reserve is a system of wadis and rugged mountains, which extend from the top of the Jordan Rift Valley down to the desert lowlands of Wadi Araba. It supports a wide variety of wildlife, including many rare species of plants and animals.

The Dana village is a great example of a timeless and traditional Jordanian village, it contains a visitors' center selling organically grown produce from the village terrace gardens, and silver jewellery and pottery produced by the women of the village. The reserve contains the Rummana and Feinan campsites and a Village guesthouse. Dana offers a selection of trails to key points of interest for both the casual and adventurous hiker."

Dana is worth much more attention than it gets and it is a great pity that it is not easier to reach for those without their own transport. Like Petra and Wadi Rum, it needs a few days to visit properly, but even just sitting on the terrace of the Guesthouse, you can appreciate the beauty and the peace of this site.

Wadi Mujib

There are some more photos of Wadi Mujib on the Photo Gallery pages and a full description of the Nature Reserve of Wadi Mujib in the "Jordan out of doors" section

There are some more photos of Wadi Mujib on the Photo Gallery pages
and a full description of the Nature Reserve of Wadi Mujib in the "Jordan out of doors" section