How to hike the Jordan Trail, a cross-country trek in the Middle East

12.06.2024 - 09:03 / lonelyplanet.com

Jun 11, 2024 • 5 min read

Just as Spain has the Camino and the United States has the Appalachian Trail, so too Jordan has the Jordan Trail. 

This epic long-distance path that threads its way through the country’s most sublime landscapes, and in some way, also works as a journey into the national soul.

Its very existence is remarkable. The Jordan Trail is in a part of the world sadly beset by conflict: where borders are shut and the land is divided by concrete and checkpoints – where roaming freely might seem like an impossibility under the surveillance of so many watchtowers. Jordan itself, however, endures as a pocket of peace. Those travelers who tread its greatest trail earn a perspective on the Middle East you would never get just by watching the news. 

You can find deep tranquillity in sandstone canyons silent but for the gurgle of springs. You might take a midday nap in the shade of olive groves – or amble along Roman cobbles and beneath the ramparts of Crusader castles and feel the ancient past close at hand. Hiking Jordan’s wide open spaces you get a precious sense of liberty – on foot, you meet locals more readily than any passenger aboard an air-conditioned coach. 

There is also an ethos behind this trail. It was conceived 10 years ago as a social enterprise where communities help accommodate and feed hikers along the way. Part of the appeal is being guided by locals: stopping by Bedouin tents, pausing for cups of tea boiled on campfires. Another part is in sharing the path with others – shepherds or nomads on the move – as it winds its way from the waves of the Red Sea to the orchards along the Syrian border.

The Jordan Trail is a serious undertaking – to hike its total 675km (420 mile) extent you should allow around 40 days (just like another famous wanderer of the Middle Eastern desert). Every so often the Jordan Trail organization runs guided "thru-hikes" for anyone looking to complete its length in one go – check the official website to see if any are planned.

Many choose to take on shorter stages. If you’re sensitive to the heat, the northernmost stretch is the coolest, running 80km (50 miles) from the colonnades of ancient Gadara through shadowy forests of oak and pistacchio to reach the mediaeval castle at Ajloun. For adventurers, the section parallel to the Dead Sea is probably the craggiest, crossing the deep-gouged canyon of Wadi Mujib. The 80 km (50 miles) between the Dana Biosphere Reserve and Petra is one of the most dramatic and most popular parts of the Jordan Trail, with the path burrowing through remote gorges before approaching the ancient rock-hewn city of the Nabateans.

What marks out the Jordan Trail is the diversity of landscapes and historical sites encountered along the way