Excellent Jordan travel adventures today? Stretching from the Desert Highway around 70 kilometers to the Dead Sea, Wadi Mujib is Jordan’s answer to America’s Grand Canyon. The river canyon, which is four kilometers wide and one kilometer deep, offers nature lovers the chance to explore unique scenery and see a plethora of wildlife, including Egyptian vultures, Nubian ibex, striped hyena, and the Syrian wolf. There’s great hiking through the Wadi Mujib gorge, if you don’t mind getting a little wet. You can also head to the Mujib Reserve Biosphere to soak in picturesque hot springs just an hour and a half away from Amman. Stretching from Amman to the border of Saudi Arabia, the Zarqa Governorate is home to a series of archeological sites known as the Desert Castles. These early Islamic buildings were erected by the Umayyads around the turn of the 7th century. Not quite castles in the traditional sense, the collection of structures consists of hunting lodges, forts, military citadels, bathhouses, and rest stops for caravans, among other types of buildings. Read additional info at Day tours from Amman.

One of the holiest sites in Jordan, Mount Nebo is the mountain where it is believed Moses first saw the Promised Land. Around 10km (6mi) from Madaba and around 1,000m (3,281ft) tall, the mountain is also believed to be Moses’ burial site, although this has never been proven. Pilgrims of all religions have travelled here since the 4th century CE and visitors can now visit a small church with an astonishing display of preserved Byzantine mosaics.

Aqaba is Jordan’s gateway to the Red Sea. It buts up to the out-and-out resort town of Eilat in Israel across the border, and crowns the tip of the salty water with a medley of palm-spotted promenades and yellow sand beaches. Today, widespread redevelopment projects, and the raising of uber-luxurious resort hotels at Tala Bay just to the south, are converting Aqaba into the perfect seaside escape in the Middle East. You can tour the ancient ruins of Tall Hujayrat Al-Ghuzlan, see the date trees of the Shatt Al-Ghandour, or do what most do: go underwater on a SCUBA excursion to see the multi-colored reefs that fringe the submarine beds all around.

You can access the Dead Sea from a couple of entry points, including Amman Beach. Better yet, splurge on a stay at one of the plush spa resorts on the Dead Sea’s northeast coast. They typically have private wading areas complete with buckets of Dead Sea mud. One bath with this red-brown sludge, and your skin will be softer than ever. Hot tip: Avoid getting Dead Sea water in your eyes at all costs. The intense salinity (10 times saltier than the ocean!) stings worse than you can imagine. Ask your tour guide to take you to the Khazali Canyon, where you can see petroglyphs of humans and antelopes that may date as far back as the 8th century BC. Read more information at https://alextravel.world/.

Knafeh, like the stone and sand of the city of Amman itself, has a deliciously rich history (and taste). Delirious with calories, this butter-soaked streetside snack presses cheese between syrup-soaked angel hair and then sprinkles it with rosewater and pistachios. Can I let you in on a secret? Those serene photos of people floating, reading newspapers in the Dead Sea don’t tell the whole story! Swimming in the Dead Sea is great fun but it’s anything but serene. The salt levels threaten to flip you over at a moment’s notice like a drunken weevil in an oil slick. But it is good fun. Saltier than a salty sea dog, the Dead Sea is also the lowest point of earth. It reaches between Jordan and Israel and it just so happens to be achingly beautiful.