Wild Footsteps (Trekking & Camping) - 8 Days

Meet & assist at Amman Airport
Transfer to Ajloun Forest Reserve (119 km) – it consists of Mediterranean-like hill country, dominated by open woodlands of Oak and Pistachio trees. The reserve was first established in 1988 when a captive-breeding program for the Roe Deer was initiated, Ajloun’s woodlands consist mostly of oak trees, interspersed with pistachio, pine, carob, and wild strawberry trees. These trees have long been important to local people for their wood, scenic beauty, and very often for medicine and food.
Dinner & Overnight in Ajloun

Hiking in Ajloun Soap Maker’s Trail (2 – 4 hours) – This trail begins at the Reserve’s Visitor

Center and takes you to the Soap House in the neighboring village of Orjan. On the way, you will hike through thick, healthy woodlands filled with oak, pistachio, and oriental strawberry trees. Take a short detour to view a ruined wine press before you pass one of the oldest strawberry trees in the Reserve on your way down into the valley. The trail climbs to 1100m above sea level at Eagle’s View Point, and then descends to the Soap House where local women follow the traditional process of making pure olive soap.

Transfer to Azraq Wetland Reserve (133 km) – the oasis is your perfect choice for bird watching; this desert jewel contains several pools, a seasonally flooded marshland and a large mudflat, and is an important stop for migratory birds on the African-Eurasian flyway.

Marsh Trail in Azraq Natural Reserve- Round Trip (30 minutes – 1 hour) – This easy walking trail gives you an excellent introduction to the Azraq Wetland Reserve. The boardwalk leads you through dry and wet areas to a viewing platform overlooking the artesian pools that once released millions of cubic meters of water into the marshland. After leaving the platform, the trail takes you over an ancient black basalt wall, most likely constructed by an Umayyad Caliph. The trail then leads to a bird hide made of local mud brick where you can observe the migratory birds and perhaps catch a glimpse of the water buffalo. Follow the trail back to the Visitor Center, passing yet another part of the ancient basalt wall.

Continue to Wadi Mujib (143 km) – this reserve is the lowest in the world, with its spectacular array of scenery near the east coast of the Dead Sea. Spectacular canyon [sometimes called “the Grand Canyon of the Middle East”), administered by the Jordanian Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature 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.

Dinner & Overnight in Wadi Mujib

Breakfast
Trekking in Wadi Mujib – Ibex Trail (3 – 4 hours) – the trail begins at the visitor center by the Mujib Bridge on the Dead Sea highway. The Sea provides a startlingly blue backdrop throughout the hike. About one third of the distance along the trail, there is an optional detour up the mountainside to Qasr Riyashi, a ruined fortification of uncertain date. Villagers say that it is one of four castles in the area, occupied by a powerful Bedouin sheikh known as Riyashi. Each one of his

sons reputedly occupied a castle, until a fight erupted over grazing rights and all of them were killed. The climb to the castle is arduous but offers very beautiful views over the Dead Sea. Returning to main track, the hike continues towards the Raddas Ranger Station, dipping up and down across a number of dry wadis. There are an amazing variety of rock colors and formations along the route and as you near the ranger station, the famous rock “statue” of Lot’s wife can be seen on the seaward edge of the reserve. It is said that while fleeing the villages of Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot’s wife ignored the warning not to look back and was turned into a pillar of salt. It takes 3 hours to get to the rangers station (4 km). Around the ranger station, you may be lucky enough to see Nubian Ibex, the magnificent wild goat with large curved horns. This animal was once common in the region but has been decimated by hunting. Mujib is one of the few safe havens for Ibex.

Transfer to Dana (95 km) – it is composed of a chain of valleys and mountains which extend from the top of the Jordan Rift Valley down to the desert lowlands of Wadi Araba. The visitor to this area will be awed by the beauty of the Rummana Mountain, the mystery of the ancient archaeological ruins of Feynan, the timeless serenity of Dana Village and the grandeur of the red and white sandstone cliffs of Wadi Dana.

Dinner & Overnight in Dana

Breakfast
Full day hiking from Dana to Feynan Eco-Lodge (luggage transportation from Dana to Feynan), Wadi Dathneh Trail (6 – 8 hours) – this difficult hike is very suitable for adventure lovers. The route descends Wadi Dathneh, past an oasis, through Wadi al Hamra to the Feynan area. Deep in the heart of the mountainous Dana Biosphere Reserve, at the end of a rugged track, an idyllic candle-lit lodge rests in the magnificent Wadi Feynan, provides an unparalleled experience in desert accommodation. This unique candle-lit Eco-lodge provides 26 uniquely designed rooms for tourists wishing to explore an undiscovered and archeologically rich area of Jordan.

Dinner & Overnight in Feynan

Breakfast
Cycling in Feynan – Village tour (3 – 4 hours) – depart from the lodge with or without a guide and explore the local villages, passing by archaeological treasures on the way through both on-road and off-track routes. Off-road tracks lead through Bedouin communities to the two nearby villages, where you can weave in and out of the narrow roads and gain an authentic sense of the daily activities and life of the villagers. Transfers back to the lodge will be arranged in a Bedouin pickup truck.
Transfer to Petra (67 km)
Dinner & Overnight at Petra Camp

Breakfast in a Camp
Transfer to Petra site for full day visit – The giant red mountains and vast mausoleums of a departed race have nothing in common with modern civilization, and ask nothing of it except to be appreciated at their true value – as one of the greatest wonders ever wrought by Nature and Man although much has been written about Petra, nothing really prepares you for this amazing place. It has to be seen to be believed. Petra the world wonder is without doubt Jordan’s most valuable treasure and greatest tourist attraction. It is a vast, unique city, carved into the sheer rock face by the Nabataeans, an industrious Arab people who settled here more than 2000 years ago, turning it into an important junction for the silk, spice and other trade routes that linked China, India and southern Arabia with Egypt, Syria, Greece and Rome.
Proceed to Wadi Rum (113 km)
Dinner & Overnight at Wadi Rum Camp

Breakfast in a Camp
4×4 Jeep Tour in Wadi Rum for 2 hours – this is a stupendous, timeless place, virtually untouched by humanity and its destructive forces. Here, it is the weather and winds that have carved the imposing, towering skyscrapers, so elegantly described by T.E. Lawrence as “vast, echoing and god-like”…

Transfer to Dead Sea (273 km) – the lowest point on the face of the earth, over 400 meters (1,312 ft.) below sea level, this vast, stretch of water receives a number of incoming rivers, including the River Jordan. The leading attraction at the Dead Sea is the warm, soothing, super salty water itself – some ten times saltier than sea water, and rich in chloride salts of magnesium, sodium, potassium, bromine and several others. The unusually warm, incredibly buoyant and mineral-rich waters have attracted visitors since ancient times, including King Herod the Great and the beautiful Egyptian Queen, Cleopatra.

Overnight at Dead Sea hotel

Breakfast at hotel
Transfer to Amman Airport for departure (80 km)