Jordan Trail is a long hiking trail in

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

established in 2015 by the Jordan Trail Association.

History

The oldest trail in Jordan was an ancient trade route that is known today as the " King's Highway", which spanned from

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

passing by Jordan.

Moses In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

and

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

are believed to have walked along what is now the Jordan Trail. The idea of a hiking trail stretching across Jordan was first introduced in the 1990s when

Wadi Rum Wadi Rum ( ''Wādī Ramm'', also ''Wādī al-Ramm''), known also as the Valley of the Moon ( ''Wādī al-Qamar''), is a valley cut into the sandstone and granite rock in southern Jordan, near the border with Saudi Arabia and about to the east of ...

came to be seen as a hot spot for

rock climbing Rock climbing is a climbing sports discipline that involves ascending climbing routes, routes consisting of natural rock in an outdoor environment, or on artificial resin climbing walls in a mostly indoor environment. Routes are documented in c ...

. Tony Howard and Di taylor had completed their guidebooks to Wadi Rum and Jordan and realised the possibility of a country length trail. The idea only received momentum and funding when the Jordan Trail Association was established in 2015. Volunteers and donors from the private sector contributed to the development of Jordan's first national hiking trail.

Queen Rania Rania Al Abdullah (born Rania Al-Yassin, 31 August 1970) is Queen of Jordan as the wife of King Abdullah II. Rania's domestic activities include education, youth, environmental, and health initiatives. Globally, she has campaigned for educati ...

joined a group of travel bloggers in 2017 for a short hike.

The Trail

The trail has been described as the " Inca Trail of the Middle East" by numerous travel agencies. The trail will be beneficial to Jordan's tourism sector as it begins to recover from the slump it witnessed due to regional turmoil in the early 2010s from the

Arab Spring The Arab Spring () was a series of Nonviolent resistance, anti-government protests, Rebellion, uprisings, and Insurgency, armed rebellions that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s. It began Tunisian revolution, in Tunisia ...

. The trail stretches from

Umm Qais Umm Qais (), also known as Qays, is a town in northern Jordan principally known for its proximity to the ruins of the ancient Gadara. It is the largest city in the Bani Kinanah Department and Irbid Governorate in the extreme northwest of the co ...

in northern Jordan to the coastal city of

Aqaba Aqaba ( , ; , ) is the only coastal city in Jordan and the largest and most populous city on the Gulf of Aqaba. Situated in southernmost Jordan, Aqaba is the administrative center of the Aqaba Governorate. The city had a population of 148, ...

in its south. The trail passes through 52 villages and towns, but the trail has been dissected to 35 sections. The entire length of the trail takes around 40 days to complete. The trail received extensive media coverage after its inception, and has been named as among 2018's best tourist destinations in the world to visit by ''

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...

'',Duckett, Maryellen, Kennedy
"Places You Need to Visit in 2018"
''

''. Accessed March 20, 2018. "The Jordan Trail highlights the country’s most scenic sites.... It’s believed that Jesus, Moses, and Mohammed all walked this path." the British Sunday Times,

the Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

, Condenast, Vogue US and

Lonely Planet Lonely Planet is a travel guide book publisher. Founded in Australia in 1973, the company has printed over 150 million books. History 20th century Lonely Planet was founded by married couple Maureen Wheeler, Maureen and Tony Wheeler. In 19 ...

References

External links

*{{facebook, TheJordanTrail/ (Official page)
Jordan trail Info
Hiking trails Tourist attractions in Jordan Hiking trails in Asia

History

The Trail

See also

References

External links