Dana Reserve
An Ottoman stone village suspended on the rim of a canyon 1,200 m deep: Dana is the country's best-kept secret — and its finest walking ground.
Suggested stay — 1 to 2 nights
Jordan's largest nature reserve tumbles from the high plateaus (1,500 m) down to the desert of the Araba valley, stringing together four climate storeys: junipers, cypresses, oleander gorges, then sand. Dana village, a handful of 19th-century stone houses restored as guesthouses, overhangs the void: you arrive by car off the King's Highway, dine on maqluba facing the canyon as it fades, and the silence does the rest — Nubian ibex at first light for the early risers.
The next day, you walk: the Wadi Dana Trail descends the canyon over 14 km to the Feynan Ecolodge, a candle-lit hotel run with the Bedouin, regularly listed among the world's finest ecolodges (a driver comes back up for you; the car waits in the village). More committed, Wadi Ghuweir climbs a gorge where water runs between walls of tortured sandstone — guide recommended. Dana is the stop the rushed circuits skip: that is exactly what saves it.
Don't miss
- Dana village at sunset, tea on a terrace facing the canyon
- The Wadi Dana Trail, 14 km downhill to the Feynan Ecolodge
- The Wadi Ghuweir water gorge, with a local guide
- A night at the Feynan Ecolodge, candle-lit, starry sky from the roof
Our tips on the ground
- Sleep in the village itself (Dana Guest House or one of the restored houses) rather than in Qadisiyah on the road: the view on waking is half the experience.
- For the Dana-Feynan trek, arrange the logistics with your guesthouse: walk down, night at Feynan, ride back up by pick-up the next day (around JD 60 per vehicle) — do not plan on climbing the 1,200 m back up under the sun.
- The reserve's trails are fee-paying and some require a guide: call at the village RSCN centre on arrival to sort permits and the next day's timings.
Our flagship guide — €29
Guide available“Jordan on Your Own”, the complete edition, is out
10 chapters: day-by-day itineraries, driving and transport, a costed budget and checklists — the same method as our Namibia guide.
The guide is currently written in French — an English edition is in the works.
Before you go
Readers' questions about Dana Reserve
Does Dana deserve a stop on a 10-day circuit?
Yes — it is even the adjustment that turns a circuit into a journey: a night in Dana between the Dead Sea and Petra breaks the chain of ticketed sites with an evening of silence and a real walk. The village sits 15 minutes off the King's Highway — a trivial detour for what it returns.
Do you need to be a seasoned hiker?
No: the viewpoint path (Dana Village Trail) is a gentle hour, and the Wadi Dana Trail is one long steady descent, harder on the knees than the lungs. Only Wadi Ghuweir and the routes off the marked trails demand experience and a guide. Avoid high summer: the canyon's lower end bakes.