Jordan: Petra, Wadi Rum and the Dead Sea ($5,795) (standard 8 day travel-but you can add more days to each itinerary if you like)
Travel through the sands of time on the ultimate desert adventure, from the bustling souks of Amman to a luxury wadi camp and the highlight, glorious Petra, one of the world’s greatest ancient treasures.A regal swirl of copper-colored sands, Jordan is a place of eternal mystique, where glorious ancient monuments are eclipsed in age only by the desert rock on which they stand. Travel to the heart of Jordan with A&K’s experts, who can take you from the bustle of Amman to remote sites in the desert, where ancient kingdoms, gods and warriors are brought to life through passionate, experienced local guides.
Zoom through Wadi Rum’s soaring canyons on an exhilarating 4x4 adventure through an epic desert wilderness.
Feel like an explorer as the iconic, rose-hued façade of the Treasury looms above you in the otherworldly desert city of Petra.
Walk among Jordan’s world-famous fifth-century desert castles, standing like lighthouses in a sea of golden sand.
Pass beneath Hadrian’s Arch as you enter ancient Jerash, the little-visited city with an embarrassment of Roman riches & witness a spectacular hidden gem in the mountains
For the first 2 days (Day 1 & 2): Step beneath Hadrian’s Gate and into Jerash, an ancient city that flourished under the Romans. Pass between the columns of the vast, oval-shaped Forum or take a pew in the South Theatre as your private guide recounts the rise and fall of this spectacular site. Your Hotel: Four Seasons Hotel Amman
Add ons for the 2 days: (optional)
Meet the local community and learn about how locals are preserving the natural environment around the Dead Sea, and meet the beneficiaries of the Jordan Bike Enterprise, a project designed to combat rural unemployment. Finish the day with a sunset dip in the Dead Sea before returning to your hotel.
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Step beneath Hadrian’s Gate, pass between the columns of the vast, oval-shaped Forum, and take a pew in the South Theatre as your private guide recounts the rise and fall of this spectacular site.
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Visit Aljourn Castle and Forest Reserve, located in the Aljoun Highlands north of Amman, and is a 13 sq km of open woodlands including oak, pine, carob, strawberry and pistachio. As well as their scenic beauty, these trees have been important to locals for centuries for medicine and food. Explore the rich history of the area, reflected in the many archaeological ruins, as well as voting the castle, also known as Qalat er-Rabad. Positioned on a high peak overlooking the city of Aljoun, it was built in the late 12th century to oppose the Crusaders’ castles of Kerak and Shobak.
Spend your next 2 days (Day 3 & 4) visiting Petra and explore the treasures of Little Petra nearby, considered an ancient suburb to the main city, hidden in the mountains. Restored frescoes include one full of grapes and vines, painted in homage to the Greek god of wine, Dionysus. Your Hotel: Mövenpick Resort Petra
Add ons for these 2 days: (optional)
Exploring Mount Nebo, Madaba and Kerak, a memorial site since the first days of Christianity and where Moses was allowed to see the Holy Land. Continuing to Madaba, the ‘City of Mosaics’, which is perched on an archeological site with more than 4000 years of history buried beneath it. One of the most prominent cities in the world for mosaics, its St George’s Church features a mosaic floor depicting a large map of Palestine. The final stop is the hilltop city of Kerak to visit the Crusader’s Castle, which was built in the 12th century and is surrounded by steep valley slopes.
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A walking tour of Ancient Petra, known as ‘the rose-red city half as old as time’, Petra is the greatest wonder of Jordan. Visit the ancient city of Petra on foot, starting at the main gate to the entrance of the old city, which was built from 800 BC to 100 AD by Nabatean Arabs as a fortress carved out of craggy rocks. After the Romans invaded in the first and second century, it reached the peak of its fame, covering 100 sq km and including more than 800 monuments. It fell into abandonment when shipping replaced caravan routes, before being rediscovered by Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt in 1812.
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Take a short drive to Little Petra, also known as Al Beidha, which is hidden away in the mountain just to the north of Petra. A miniature version of the latter, it dates back to the 1st Century AD and contains a number of notable tombs, as well as stairs to higher viewpoints.
For the next 2 more days (Day 5 & 6) visit Wadi Rum entering deep into silent gorges, pass through dramatic rock arches and bound over vast, rippling dunes on a thrilling tour of Wadi Rum in a private 4x4 vehicle. Your Hotel: Discovery Bedu Camp
Add on for these 2 days: (optional)
A 4x4 tour of Wadi Rum, known as the Valley of the Moon, Wadi Rum is Jordan’s largest and most spectacular desert landscape. Virtually untouched by humans, it is a maze of monolithic rock formations, which rise up out of the desert floor to heights of 1,750m — making it a paradise for mountaineers. It is also deeply connected to British officer T.E. Lawrence, who passed through during the Arab Revolt of 1917 — with one of the rock formations named ‘The Seven Pillars of Wisdom’ after a book he penned.
For your last 2 days ( Day 7 & 8) visit the Dead Sea, Jordan. After breakfast at Wadi Rum, check out of your camp for the four-hour journey by road to the Dead Sea. There, settle in and relax at your hotel and experience the uniqueness of floating cork-like on the surface of the saline lake. Smother yourself in skin-nourishing mud before washing it off and basking in the sunshine as you reflect on your journey. Your Hotel: Kempinski Hotel Ishtar Dead Sea
Add on for these last 2 days: (optional)
Explore three of Jordan’s best-preserved desert castles, each offering a window into the country’s past. Complete with stone and stucco carvings, as well as mosaics and frescoes, these desert castles offer a glimpse into life in Jordan between the fifth and eighth centuries.
Travel dates are up to you, you can leave or embark in this package at your own time discretion.