Essence of Jordan

Meet & assist upon arrival at Aqaba Airport, (free visa on arrival guarantee), transfer to your hotel and overnight in Aqaba

After breakfast, visit Aqaba The Jewel of the Red Sea. You will have a free morning to explore Aqaba city. In the afternoon, drive to Amman along Wadi Araba Road, reaching Amman for your overnight stay.

After breakfast there will be a full day visit starting with Pella, one of the most ancient towns in the world and a favourite of archaeologists. Pella is exceptionally rich in antiquities, some of which are exceedingly old. Besides the excavated ruins from the Graeco-Roman period, Pella offers visitors the opportunity to see the remains of Chalcolithic settlement from the 4th millennium BC, evidence of Bronze and Iron Age walled cities, Byzantine churches, early Islamic residential quarters and a small medieval mosque. In addition to Jerash and Amman, Gadara (now Umm Qais) and Pella (TabaqitFahl) were once Decapolis cities, and each has unique appeal. Umm Qais is one of the most brilliant ancient Greco-Roman cities of the Decapolis.

Perched on a splendid hilltop overlooking the Jordan Valley and the Sea of Galilee. Umm Qais boasts impressive ancient remains, such as the stunning black basalt theatre, the basilica and adjacent courtyard strewn with nicely carved black sarcophagi, the colonnaded main street and a side streetlinedwith shops, an underground mausoleum, two baths, a nymphaeum, a city gate and the faint outlines of what was a massive hippodrome. Drive to hotel in Amman for overnight.

After breakfast, a full day visit of Jerash, ‘the Jewel of the North’ - one of the largest and most well-preserved sites of Roman architecture in the world outside of Italy. A close second to Petra on the list of favourite destinations in Jordan, the ancient city of Jerash boasts an unbroken chain of human occupation dating back more than 6,500 years. The city's golden age came under Roman rule and the site is now generally acknowledged to be one of the best-preserved Roman provincial towns in the world. Hidden for centuries in sand before being excavated and restored over the past 70 years, Jerash reveals a fine example of the grand, formal provincial Roman urbanism that is found throughout the Middle East, comprising paved and colonnaded streets, soaring hilltop temples, handsome theatres, spacious public squares and plazas, baths, fountains and city walls pierced by towers and gates.

Continue to the Dead Sea, one of the most spectacular natural and spiritual landscapes in the world and the lowest point on Earth. Without a doubt the world’s most amazing place, the Jordan Rift Valley is a dramatic, beautiful landscape, which at the Dead Sea, is over 400m below sea level. This vast stretch of water receives a number of incoming rivers, including the River Jordan. Once the waters reach the Dead Sea they are land-locked and have nowhere to go, so they evaporate, leaving behind a dense, rich, cocktail of salts and minerals that supply industry, agriculture and medicine with some of its finest products.

The Dead Sea is flanked by mountains to the east and the rolling hills of Jerusalem to the west, giving it an almost other-worldly beauty. Although sparsely populated and serenely quiet now, the area is believed to have been home to five Biblical cities: Sodom, Gomorrah, Adman, Zebouin and Zoar (Bela). Return to the hotel in Amman for overnight stay.

After breakfast, drive along the 2000 year old Kings Highway; the ancient road mentioned in the Bible, which links prehistoric villages from the Stone Age and biblical towns. Stop at Madaba, ‘The City of Mosaics’; 30km south of Amman. Visit the town’s main attraction, the Greek Orthodox Church of St. George where the famous 6th Century Byzantine mosaic map of the Holy Land and other biblical sites is found. Proceed to Mt. Nebo, known as the burial place of Prophet Moses.

The mountain, which rises to 840m altitude, offers a spectacular view of the Holy Land. Continue driving via the Kings Highway, which links prehistoric villages from the Stone Age, and biblical towns, to arrive at Kerak, the magnificent Crusader Castle built in the 12th century AD, which is situated on a hilltop about 1000 meters above sea level and surrounded by a valley on three sides. Kerak has been inhabited since at least the iron age and was an important city for the Moabites. Proceed to Petra for the night.

After breakfast begins a full day visit of the “Rose Red City” of Petra – a treasure of the ancient world. Celebrated in 2012 on the 200th year of its rediscovery, the ancient Nabatean city of Petra was recently voted as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It is without a doubt Jordan’s most valuable treasure and greatest tourist attraction. In 1985 Petra was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Begin your visit by enjoying a walk or a short horse ride from Petra’s main entrance to the entrance of the old city through the “Siq”, which is a 1210 meters long narrow canyon. As you reach the end of the Siq, the first and greatest monument of Petra slowly comes into view – this is the famous Treasury monument “Al Khazneh”. Petra is an extraordinary and unique place, which was built by the Arab Nabatean more than 2000 years ago.

The Nabatean carved their monumental tombs, palaces, temples and treasury from the desert’s natural rose-coloured rocks and sandstones. Petra was an important junction for the silk, spice and other trade routes that linked the Eastern world with that of the West. Indulge yourself, and allow our professional guide to walk you through the architectural and spiritual wonders of this majestic area explaining every detail. Staying overnight in Petra.

After breakfast, a very short 10 minute drive will get you to Little Petra, ‘Al-Beidha’ an important suburb of the City of Petra. You enter the site through a narrow gorge called Siq al-Barid, the "cold Siq". The name refers to the circumstance that due to the high walls, sunlight is prevented from entering the canyon and warming it. The Siq is 350 meters long with three wider areas inside. It is believed Little Petra was an important suburb of Petra, being the entry and exit point for the trade routes to the north and north-west. Here the caravans from the Negev, Gaza, Jerusalem, Egypt and the Mediterranean coast arrived, had a rest and engaged in trade. Like in Petra, buildings had been carved into the sandstone, used as residences, storages and tombs, with water channels and cisterns. In one of the buildings you can find the remains of painted frescoes with birds, grapes and flowers, dating back to the 1st century AD.

Continue to Wadi Rum, Jordan’s vast and echoing desert, for a 4×4 jeep ride. Stunning in its natural beauty, Wadi Rum epitomizes the romance of the desert. With its "moonscape" of ancient valleys and towering sandstone mountains rising out of the sand, Wadi Rum is also home to several Bedouin tribes who live in scattered camps throughout the area. Climbers are especially attracted to Wadi Rum because of its sheer granite and sandstone cliffs, while hikers enjoy its vast empty spaces. Wadi Rum is probably best known because of its connection with the enigmatic British officer T.E. Lawrence, who was based here during the Great Arab Revolt of 1917-18. Much of David Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia was filmed in Wadi Rum. Special dinner arrangement and desert experience with overnight at the Bedouin camp.

After breakfast, drive to Aqaba for a free day of Leisure. Swimming & relaxing is also possible (Private beach Sup USD$13 includes transfers, towels, entrance and beach facility), and drive in the afternoon for final departure via Aqaba Airport.