Top 10 Viewpoints in Jordan
Jordan compresses an extraordinary range of landscapes into a small Middle Eastern country: red sandstone deserts, deep rift valleys, the lowest point on the earth's surface and an ancient city carved into rose-coloured cliffs. Its viewpoints take in desert vastness, biblical history and geological extremes. These ten capture Jordan's deserts, canyons and ancient sites at their most dramatic.
The Monastery viewpoint, Petra
Petra, the ancient Nabataean city carved into rose-red sandstone, holds its most spectacular viewpoints high above the valley. The climb of 800 steps to the Monastery (Ad Deir) leads beyond it to clifftop lookouts marked "best view in the world," framing the desert mountains stretching toward the Wadi Araba. It is the reward for the long ascent.
Wadi Rum
The desert of Wadi Rum is a landscape of red sand and towering sandstone and granite massifs rising up to 1,700 metres. Viewpoints from the dunes, the rock bridges such as Burdah, and the high points climbed on foot frame the vast desert valley. The emptiness and the glowing red rock make it one of the most cinematic desert viewpoints on earth.
Dead Sea viewpoints
The Dead Sea shore lies at around 430 metres below sea level, the lowest point on the earth's surface. Viewpoints from the surrounding hills and the panoramic complex look down over the mineral-blue water, the salt formations and, across the water, the hills of the West Bank. The extreme depression and the haze over the water give it an otherworldly quality.
Mount Nebo
Mount Nebo, at around 800 metres, is the biblical site from which Moses is said to have viewed the Promised Land. The viewpoint looks west across the Jordan Valley, the Dead Sea and, on clear days, to Jerusalem and the hills beyond. It combines a sweeping panorama with profound religious history.
Dana Biosphere Reserve
The Dana Reserve descends dramatically from high plateau at over 1,500 metres to the desert of Wadi Araba far below. Viewpoints from the village of Dana, perched on the canyon edge, frame the great gorge dropping away through changing rock colours. It is one of the most scenic and ecologically diverse viewpoints in Jordan.
Petra Treasury from above
Beyond the famous ground-level view of the Treasury (Al Khazneh) through the Siq, a steep trail climbs to a clifftop viewpoint directly above the facade. From here the Treasury is framed in its full canyon setting, with the tiny figures of visitors below for scale. It is one of the most rewarding alternative perspectives in Petra.
Wadi Mujib
The Wadi Mujib gorge cuts down to the Dead Sea, the lowest nature reserve on earth. Viewpoints from the King's Highway, where it crosses the canyon, look down into the immense gorge — sometimes called the "Grand Canyon of Jordan." The water trek through the slot canyon is famous; the rim viewpoints give the grand scale.
Umm ar-Rasas and the eastern desert
The viewpoints over Jordan's eastern desert, from sites such as the desert castles and the basalt plains, frame the vast, flat emptiness of the badia stretching toward Iraq and Saudi Arabia. The scale and the stark, dark basalt landscape are a contrast to the red sandstone of the south.
Ajloun Castle
The 12th-century Ajloun Castle stands on a hilltop in the green hills of northern Jordan, built by the forces of Saladin. The viewpoint from the ramparts looks out over the Jordan Valley, the forested hills and, on clear days, far across the rift. It combines Crusader-era history with one of the finest views in the wooded north.
Karak Castle
The great Crusader fortress of Karak stands on a high spur above the King's Highway, its ramparts giving sweeping views over the surrounding valleys and toward the Dead Sea. The viewpoint combines the dramatic medieval fortification with the wide landscape of the central Jordanian highlands.
Explore on the map
From the heights above Petra to the deserts of Wadi Rum and the depths of the Dead Sea, every viewpoint above is plotted on the interactive map. Use it to see which require a steep climb, which are desert overlooks or castle ramparts, and plan a route across the deserts and ancient sites of Jordan.