Dana Biosphere Reserve

Dana Biosphere Reserve covers 320 square kilometres of rugged terrain along Jordan's ancient Kings' Highway, making it the country's largest nature reserve since its establishment in 1989. The landscape plunges from sandstone and granite plateaus at 1,700 metres down to desert floor at 300 metres, creating multiple overlapping climate zones within a single valley system — Mediterranean scrub gives way to arid savannah and near-desert within a few hours' walk. This elevation gradient sustains exceptional biodiversity: Nubian ibex, sand cats, Syrian wolves, and over 200 bird species share the reserve with remnants of Nabataean and Bronze Age settlement. The vast majority of Dana is reachable only on foot. Multi-day trekking routes descend from the traditional stone village of Dana all the way to Wadi Rum, operated under a sustainable eco-tourism model by the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature — one of the most committed low-impact visitor frameworks in the Middle East.