7 Days / 6 Nights — five protected areas, one Rift Valley

Most visitors see Jordan’s archaeology and drive past its ecology. This trail does the opposite. It follows the Great Rift Valley from the northern oak forests down to the Red Sea. That corridor carries 350 migratory species between Europe, Asia and Africa. Along the way you stay inside five of Jordan’s protected areas.

Day 1 — Ajloun Forest Reserve

We meet in Amman and drive north into the evergreen highlands. The cable car lifts you over the canopy. Then a four-hour walk on the Prophet’s Trail, from the visitor centre to Tel Mar Elyas. Lunch travels with you. Short-toed Snake Eagle circles overhead. Sardinian Warbler works the scrub below. Dinner follows in the reserve, then an unguided evening walk and a night in the forest.

Day 2 — Yarmouk Forest Reserve

Morning transfer to Jordan’s newest reserve, high above the Yarmouk river. First a handicraft session with the local cooperative. After lunch comes the Al Hreith trail, then three hours through Muntamra Valley. The day closes with the Iris sunset hike. That is the best light and the best birding hour, in the same two hours. Overnight in Yarmouk.

Day 3 — Azraq Wetland Reserve

A Jordanian breakfast, then east into the basalt desert. Azraq is the oasis that shouldn’t exist. You ride the village trail by bicycle across five hours, with brunch on the way. Later you walk the Marsh Trail as the light drops. Marsh Harrier, Crane and passage Honey Buzzard come in to the pools. Evening belongs to the Chechen community, who have lived here for over a century. Their history, their food, their table. Night at Azraq Lodge, a 1940s British field hospital converted with care.

Day 4 — Qatraneh and Dana Biosphere Reserve

South along the desert highway, with a stop at Qatraneh Palace. There is time to walk the ground around it. Then into Dana, Jordan’s largest reserve. A single valley drops through four bio-geographic zones. Four hours on the White Dome Trail put you among Griffon Vulture, Syrian Serin and Palestine Sunbird. Chukar calls the whole way. Dinner and a night at Dana Guest House, on the cliff edge.

Day 5 — Petra and Wadi Rum

A short drive to Petra, then four hours in the Nabataean city. Late lunch at our own restaurant in Wadi Musa. Onward to Wadi Rum for zarb, cooked in the sand. Two hours of stargazing round a bonfire follow. You sleep in a bubble tent under the clearest sky in the country.

Day 6 — Wadi Rum and Aqaba

Three hours by jeep through the protected area. Sinai Rosefinch, Sooty Falcon and Trumpeter Finch live in this sandstone. Then down to the Red Sea. Lunch and a glass-blowing session at a women-led craft centre. After that, a walking tour of the city. The day ends at an open-air cinema, with dinner under the stars.

Day 7 — Aqaba Bird Observatory

The morning goes to the RSCN observatory. Here the soaring migration funnels to its narrowest point anywhere on earth. Then a private yacht on the Red Sea for the afternoon. Finally the drive north, and a goodbye dinner at Jordan Heritage Restaurant in Amman.

What’s included

Full-board and fully guided throughout. Every meal, transfer, reserve permit and experience is included. Departures run March to May and September to November, when the migration is moving.

Coming Soon