Jordan is a beautiful country, full of history, culture, and incredible landmarks. I spent one week travelling through Jordan on a tour with Travel Talk tours. We visited some incredible places, but these 5 places were the highlights.
Was one-week enough time? In short, it was to see the main attractions. As my guide said, ‘you are seeing the tourist attractions, but you are not seeing Jordan’. There are of course many other attractions to see throughout Jordan.
You can find some essential travel information for Jordan here.
Table of Contents
1. Petra
I would be surprised if Petra wasn’t high on your bucket list for Jordan! This is one of the Seven Wonders of the World and is spectacular in person.
Petra is located roughly 3-4hrs from Amman, the capital or Jordan. It is just simply somewhere you need to visit on your travels to Jordan. I would recommend visiting here over 2 days, if possible, because it will take you roughly 8-10hrs to explore the whole area, with about 25-30km of walking (well according to my watch).
You can find a full detailed guide to Petra here.
Places in Petra you MUST visit:
- The Treasury
- The Treasury high viewpoint
- The Monastery
- The theatre
- The Royal Tombs
2. Wadi Rum
Wadi Rum, also known as the Valley of the Moon – a valley cut into sandstone and granite rock in the South of Jordan. Covering 74 000 hectare, this area is just gorgeous. Its rich red sand, vast dessert landscapes and towering granite peaks. Makes you feel like you are walking on Mars.
Although there isn’t much to do in Wadi Rum itself, expect for camel rides, Jeep safaris and star gazing. I do recommend you spend at least 2 nights here. As I photographer I loved it, I will stand by saying nothing beats a desert sunrise/sunset. This would also be a special place to unwind for a few days. There are some incredible accommodations in this area, which can make your stay very special.
I stayed at the Wadi Rum Captains Camp, which was a lovely little spot. Close to some cliffs to explore in the evening! The BBQ Baquet for dinner was delicious and had a great variety.
3. Dead Sea
You MUST go to the Dead Sea if you are in Jordan! This was the most fun I had on my Jordan trip. Floating in the dead sea and it being impossible to touch the ground, was such a unique experience.
You have the choice of covering yourself in the therapeutic mud, which I was recommended to do at least twice. I do recommend you patch test this before covering yourself in it, as a few people from my group had a reaction. You will know if you do as you will feel the area heat up and get itchy. The mud is said to have benefits such as healing, anti-aging, and moisturizing affects.
The mud does also stain your skin, so don’t wear it for longer than 20mins – unless you want an orange tan!
A few tips to visiting the Dead Sea:
- It’s extremely salty, don’t get it on your face or in your eyes – it burns!
- Test the mud before covering yourself.
- Cover yourself in mud at least twice.
- Don’t shave at least 3 days prior to your visit.
- Cover small sores with Vaseline.
- Wear water shoes into the water, it does have sharp rocks at the bottom.
4. Jerash
Jersah is one of the favourite destinations to visit in Jordan, and honestly this wasn’t somewhere I was extremely excited for. Once I visited though, it all made sense!
The ancient city of Jerash dates back 6500 years, located about 45km from Amman. This cities golden age came under Roman rule and is now acknowledged as one of the best preserved Roman ruins outside of Italy. It was hidden for centuries in sand, before being excavated and restored over the past 70 years.
How to get here? Jerash is best explored via a day trip from Amman, which will take about 40 minutes of driving. I’d recommend at least 3 hours to walk around the area, in order to fully explore it.
5. Aqaba
Aqaba is one of the places I unfortunately didn’t get to visit on my travels through Jordan, but I’ve heard its beautiful. This city is rich in history and dates back to pre-biblical times. It was ruled by Romans, Mamluks and Ottmans. An important trading port in the region.
The city is situated 15 minutes from the Wadi-Araba border with Israel. You can take a taxi or public bus from the Aqaba international airport.
There are several things to do here from visiting Old town, wilderness areas, water sports and more. Being based on the Red Sea it has some of the most spectacular aquatic wildlife, making it the perfect place for scuba diving.
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