8-Day Jordan Highlights Tour from Amman with Petra and Wadi Rum

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Day 01

Arrival in Amman and Welcome Dinner

• Meet the tour guide at Amman Airport, who will assist you on arrival and facilitate your transfer to the hotel.
• Take a breather or explore the neighbourhood when you get there. Be at the hotel lobby at 6 pm to meet your tour leader and fellow travellers for the first meeting. Once the formalities are done, head out for some mouth-watering Jordanian fare.

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Day 02

Mount Nebo, Madaba, and Drive to Petra

• After breakfast, settle in for an hour-long drive to Mount Nebo and survey - as Moses did - the Dead Sea, the Jordan River valley, Jericho, Bethlehem, and the distant hills of Jerusalem from atop a windswept promontory standing approximately 700 metres above sea level.
• Stride towards the 4th-century Moses Memorial Church next and try to find some of the original stone pieces used to fashion this small edifice. Cast your last glance at Jordan's history here.
• Proceed to the Church of St George in Madaba, just 9 km away, and feast your eyes on the 6th-century mosaic map depicting a section of the Middle East, as well as the original cartographic illustration of the Holy Land.
• Walk around this small town and explore its churches. Consider sitting down for lunch or watching the world shifting shades over the scent of coffee. If time permits, get an insight into the creative process of one of Jordan's most exquisite exports at Carpet City.
• Step into your vehicle again and drive through the desert highway en route to Petra, your stop for the night.

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Day 03

Petra and the Wonders of Wadi Musa

• Wake up to the tingling of excited nerves as you get ready to witness one of the most intriguing architectural complexes in the world, which figures on the list of the "Seven Wonders of the World" no less. Step through Al Siq, a narrow passage where the sunlight forms shadows, revealing and hiding the treasures held within its red, pink, and ochre-hewn sandstone cliffs.
• Enter a patch of an ancient era - as old as 2,000 years ago - and explore some of its highlights, including the royal tombs, the Nabatean Theatre, and the inimitable Treasury that adorns this great complex. Spend your time slack-jawed until it is time to make use of your jaws at lunch, and then spend the remainder of the day at your leisure, milling about in the remains, climbing up to the monastery and other areas to form your impressions of this marvel.

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Day 04

Journey to Wadi Rum and Bedouin Camp

• Make your way southwards after breakfast towards the famous red dunes of Wadi Rum, where you'll be camping Bedouin style.
• Go deeper into the desert on 4WDs to marvel at some of the unique natural formations in the world, carved out by wind and sun over the centuries. Sink your toes into the yielding brown, red, and pink sand and run your eyes over the landscape that was once the home of T.E. Lawrence.
• Catch the nuances of the Rum as you visit its highlights, perhaps even learning about the Thamudic inscriptions while transporting yourself way back to the 7th century BC.

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Day 05

Barrah Siq and Deeper into Wadi Rum

• Drive even deeper into the folds of the Rum and watch it reveal its secrets as slowly as the shadows of rocky outcrops and sandstone formations lengthen across its vast expanse.
• Take a walk through the Barrah Siq, which cleaves the Barrah massif in half, past sheer walls and cliffs to a peninsula that juts out to a broad, silent expanse and gazes far into the distance marked by fantastic rock formations. Linger here in the Rum, listening to the silence and, at last, waiting for the sun to leave its final touches on the sand before you return to your camp.

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Day 06

Kerak Castle and the Dead Sea

• Leave the red-brick landscape of Wadi Rum and travel onwards to Kerak, a now bustling town encased in millennia of Levantine history.
• Disembark at the largest of all the castles built by the Crusaders in the Middle East and walk through the entrance, breezing past various sections where the walls tease out stories of Saladin, his siege of this castle in the 12th century, and many others that lie hidden within its walls. Have lunch.
• Take a moment and head for your overnight destination, the Dead Sea.

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Day 07

Jerash Ruins and Farewell Dinner

• Have breakfast, drive to Jerash, and stand gaping at the archaeological complex, home to one of the best-preserved ancient Roman cities.
• Run an appreciative eye over the intricate decor of Hadrian's Arch, built to commemorate the Emperor's visit in 129 AD, and then contemplate life as it may have been for the ancient populace at the Cardo Maximus, striding through the original pavement laid out in the 1st century.
• Gaze at the city plan from the Sanctuary of Zeus and discover all the other incredible ruins - the Oval Plaza, Hippodrome, the two theatres, and the Temple of Artemis, among others - during your exploration. Retreat for a moment from this era and adjust to the present as you leave the complex and drive back to your accommodation to spend some time at leisure.
• Celebrate your adventures in the evening by getting together for a final dinner.

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Day 08

Departure from Amman

• Bid farewell to your tour leader and new friends, but not without a backpack full of memories. Please consult your tour leader or the hotel desk to confirm the check-out time.