Jordan Travel Guide

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Top Things to See

Azraq
Catch up with more recent history at the fortress at Azraq, Lawrence of Arabia's headquarters during the Great Arab Revolt of 1917, then head east towards Mafraq and explore the deserted black basalt city of Um al Jimal.

Castles
Imagine the striking of ancient hooves on cobbles at the Crusader castles of Karak and Ash Shawbak. If you listen extra hard, you may catch the whisper of the wind penetrating the underground passageways. Tour the eastern desert castles (www.kinghussein.gov.jo/tourism5.html), built as hunting lodges and trading posts by the Umayyad, such as Al-Kharanah and Amra.

Dead Sea Panorama museum
Drop in at the Dead Sea Panorama museum to put the lowest point on earth in a more elevated context; the sea is living up to its name and shrinking at an alarming rate.

Kings Highway
Drive along the historic King's Highway, a road of Biblical significance. Call in at Madaba, famed for its mosaic map of Palestine, and nearby Mount Nebo, where Moses surveyed the 'Promised Land' before he died.

Mosaics
Even if you've seen enough mosaics to last a lifetime, spare time for one more: the magnificent mosaic floors of the excavated church of St Stephen in Um er Rasas are not a UNESCO World Heritage site for nothing.

Mukawir
Visit the village of Mukawir and watch the women of the Bani Hamida workshop (www.jordanriver.jo) weave wool into colorful traditional designs. Nearby is Machaerus, the fortress of Herod Antipas, where John the Baptist was imprisoned before being beheaded.

Museums
Visit The Citadel and Archaeological Museum in Amman. With a selection of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the remains of an Umayyad city and fine views of the Roman amphitheater, it is a wonder that so many tourists bypass the capital.

Wadi Rum
Step into the magnificent wind-blown desert of Wadi Rum. The wind and occasional flooding has shaped the landscape into a cyclorama of pillars and rock arches - a fit arena for the spectacles of history played out here.

Wildlife reserves
Visit one of Jordan's wildlife reserves, such as the Azraq Wetlands (www.rscn.org.jo). The residents - including hyena, wolf, gazelle, ostrich and oryx - are notoriously elusive but the infectious beauty of each location is easily caught.

Top Things to Do

Desert tour
Hire a guide with a 4-wheel drive vehicle and disappear into the eastern desert. Just when you think you're on the road to nowhere, you'll stumble across Qasr al Tuba, the remotest of the Umayyad desert castles.

Diving
Go diving at Aqaba (www.aqaba.jo) and be wowed by the psychedelic underworld of the Red Sea. If the beauty of the fish doesn't make you vegetarian, sample a few marine delicacies in one of the town's many fish restaurants.

Floating
Bob like a cork in the dense salt water of the Dead Sea. When the salt begins to smart, brush away the tears in an extravagant spa treatment at one of the neighboring resorts.

Go to the races
Catch the hedonistic fever of ancient Rome in a trip to the races at Jerash, a magnificently preserved, Greco-Roman city where daily chariot races are staged at the recently restored Hippodrome.

Hiking
Keep an eye open for ibex (wild mountain goats) on a hike in the Dana Nature Reserve. What you miss upon the rocky outcrops, the enthusiastic park rangers will make up for in lively evening chats with one of the eco-lodges.

Hot air balloon
Soar noiselessly above Wadi Rum in a hot-air balloon. The eagle-eye view is almost as epic as Sam Lean's film of Lawrence's life among the Arabs, filmed in the dunes below.

Spot springtime blooms
Plan a visit to Jordan in April or May when garlands of springtime flowers lace the Roman monuments at Um Qais (biblical 'Gadara'), perched high above Lake Tiberius. If you're lucky, you may happen on a black iris, Jordan's national flower.

Stay with the Bedouin
Spend the day touring the desert by jeep, on foot or astride a camel. In the evening, enjoy a traditional feast in a Bedouin tent then fall asleep under the stars (www.jordantracks.com).

Take the train
For the ultimate rail experience, take a trip on the Hejaz Railway (www.jhr.gov.jo) from Amman to Damascus. This slow-moving relic of the Ottoman Empire is one of the world's classic rail journeys, but don't expect it to be comfortable.

Watch the sunset
Sit on top of a 'high place' at sunset and you'll quickly understand why the fabled city of Petra (www.visitjordan.com) is a jewel in the crown of antiquities: the sandstone of the Nabatean tombs glows ruby-red in the setting sun.