This 7-Day Jordan Trek Pairs Trails with Stylish Stays

Fly into Amman’s Queen Alia International Airport (AMM), where an Intrepid Travel representative will help with your transfer to the contemporary InterContinental Amman in the capital’s Diplomatic Area. Refresh yourself with a swim or spa treatment, then do some sightseeing on your own.

The ancient Roman Amphitheater makes for an excellent starting point. This 2nd-century C.E. structure once seated 6,000 and housed a small shrine to Athena, the goddess of wisdom, back when the city was known as Philadelphia. Her statue has been relocated to the Jordan Museum, a worthwhile stop for history enthusiasts. Art aficionados may prefer the Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts, showcasing talent from the Islamic world and developing nations.

Meet your group for dinner at Fakhreldin Restaurant, which serves a Levantine Lebanese menu. Once a prime minister’s residence, the property still boasts a lush garden—open for dining in mild weather—with an abundance of fig, apricot, jasmine, and almond trees. Mezze rules here from hummus to grilled halloumi cheese, stuffed grape leaves, muhammara (a walnut-pepper dip), and sambousek (fried phyllo pastry with minced meat). The fresh flavors and ingredients also shine in the dessert course, featuring Arabic ice cream with pistachios, cream, and honey.

Hit the trail in Wadi Shu’eib (Valley of Jethro) for a guided hike through a ruggedly scenic valley, framed by cliffs and low ochre-colored hills. The trek concludes in the city of As-Salt, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that blends European art nouveau and neo-colonial architecture with local traditions.

Here you’ll enjoy a traditional lunch and meet local icon Umm Mohammad Amayreh, a beloved community figure known for her warm hospitality and delicious cuisine. She broke through traditional expectations, welcoming tourist groups into her home to provide for her five children—and loves sharing stories about how Muslims and Christians coexist in As-Salt. After the meal, you’ll continue exploring the city streets on the As-Salt City Harmony Trail, gaining a deeper understanding of life in this interreligious haven.

An hour’s drive will take your group to the Mövenpick Dead Sea Jordan Resort & Spa, where an expert local guide will lead a gentle sunset cliff walk. Then, you’ll have the evening at leisure, which could include relaxing on the beachfront of Al-Bahr al-Mayyit (Dead Sea).

This landlocked body of water has incredibly high salinity, which fish, birds, and plants can’t tolerate—hence the name. Shoreline salt buildup creates surreal ridges and peaks, and visitors shriek with laughter as they try to swim in liquid almost buoyant enough to sit on. Expect to log more than seven miles today, with an elevation gain of about 850 feet.

Start with a scenic drive through Ghor Fifa, where fertile wetlands shelter water birds each winter, 1,398 feet below sea level. Stretch your legs at the Dana Biosphere Reserve, which encompasses Jordan’s four biogeographical zones (Mediterranean, Irano-Turanian, Saharo-Arabian, and Sudanian). This results in a superabundance of species, including the endangered lesser kestrel, sand cat, and Arabian wolf.

A guided hike introduces you to this biodiverse area with approximately 7.5 miles of undulating trails, gaining 550 feet of elevation. You’ll trek into the Bedouin hamlet of Wadi Feynan, home to the nation’s premier sustainable hotel, Feynan Ecolodge, where you’ll stay. The serene 26-room inn glows with candlelight behind a facade of golden stone, which makes for extraordinary stargazing from your private balcony at night.

A 4WD will take you to nearby Siq al-Barid (Cold Canyon), also known as “Little Petra.” Ramble around the ruins, initially settled by the ancient Arabians known as the Nabataeans in the first century C.E. Archaeologists believe this community was a suburb of Al-Batrāʾ (Petra), now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Your guide will lead a hike from the village of Umm Sayhoun along an ancient trading route to Petra, where magnificent ruins crown a plateau. The Nabataeans conquered this area and made the city—one of the planet’s oldest—their capital. They mastered water technology and carved the rose-red rock into intricate tombs, temples, and a theater.

The moderate “Back Door to Petra” trail winds through dramatic desert landscapes to Ad-Dayr (the Monastery). Taking this path avoids the 900-step hike uphill from Petra’s main entrance and much of the crowds and makes the experience more accessible to everyone, thanks to Intrepid Travel’s local knowledge. You’ll see the 95 C.E. structure that Christians reused, which may have been a chapel that memorialized a divine king, carving crosses into the rear wall.

Drink in phenomenal views from the Bedouin café outside before taking the ancient path down into the basin. Here you’ll see many structures, but none more splendid than Al-Khazneh (the Treasury), which may be familiar from films like Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. This rock-cut monument faces the Siq, a narrow .75-mile cleft through a sandstone massif that serves as the city’s main entrance.

Your hotel, the Petra Moon, stands just outside the gate and has an outdoor pool and hot tub to help soothe any aching muscles. Consider attending Petra by Night, a captivating spectacle of music and storytelling at the candlelit Treasury (not included in the trip price).

You’ll walk roughly 6.2 miles with 1,230 feet of elevation gain today.

Lace up your boots for another Petra trek, a guided excursion along the three-mile Al-Madras (Oil Press) trail. Climb ancient rock-hewn stairs, passing fragrant oleander shrubs and Phoenician junipers, to the summit where inhabitants once performed religious rituals. This spot offers splendid vistas of the towering sandstone mountains girdling Petra. Want an even more elevated view? Add on the two-mile Al-Khubtha Trail to view the Treasury from above.

Shift gears in the afternoon with a transfer to the haunting desert landscape of Wadi Rum, also known as the Valley of the Moon, another site protected by UNESCO for its culture and natural beauty. Lofty peaks trace the horizon of this basin, dotted with caverns, dunes, narrow gorges, and natural arches. More than 45,000 petroglyphs and inscriptions mark 12,000 years of human habitation. Tonight, you’ll experience that history firsthand while staying with a nomadic Bedouin tribe.

But you won’t be roughing it. The Saraya Rum Private Luxury Camp offers air-conditioned cottages adorned with rich fabrics, complete with chandeliers and en-suite bathrooms. Join the group for a short sunset hike among the dunes.

Then, savor a traditional Bedouin meal of meats and vegetables roasted in a zarb (sandpit oven). Lamb, goat, and chicken remain the most popular options for barbecue. (Vegetarians should be aware that rice may be cooked below other ingredients, absorbing their oils, and may prefer the buffet of dips and salads instead.)

After dinner, consider an optional stargazing and Bedouin storytelling experience. Or simply go to sleep early, if you need rest after two hours of travel time and 3.5 hours of hiking moderate trails that climb 580 feet today.

Wake to a Bedouin breakfast, which could include dried dates, flat breads, camel and goat cheeses, and mujadara (lentils, rice, and caramelized onions), washed down by sweet tea or strong black Arabic coffee. After the five-hour drive back to Amman, enjoy one last guided walk around the ruins of Jerash, the country’s largest and most interesting Roman site.

Notice its blend of East and West, where the Greco-Roman world meshed with Arabian traditions. This walled city peaked around 130 C.E. under the rule of the Roman emperor Hadrian, but plenty remains to explore. Expect to spend two to three hours trekking here.

Check back into the InterContinental Amman, then join your group for a farewell dinner. Raise a glass of mint tea to the friendships formed, miles walked, and new perspectives gained before departing the next day.