Jordan » 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 neighbouring 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.