The Shawmari Reserve is a breeding centre for some of the most endangered and rare wildlife in the Middle East. In this small reserve there is a large herd of magnificent Arabian Oryx, a species that was once on the verge of extinction. There are also ostriches, onagers and graceful desert gazelles. These animals are all rebuilding their populations in this safe haven, where they are protected from the hunting and habitat destruction that once threatened their existence.

The Shawmari Reserve supports a rich variety of desert plants, mainly because the vegetation inside the reserve is protected from the heavy grazing of sheep and goats outside its perimeters. Shawmari contains a very large number of species of plants, including Atriplex, a natural food source for the Onager and Oryx.

Visitors’ Facilities:

Tourist Information Centre: A reception point for visitors in which information and brochures about the Reserve are available. There is also a Tourist Shop selling locally-made souvenirs such as silverware, decorated ostrich eggs and reed products.

Visitors’ Centre: Contains a small museum with a variety of interactive materials, slide shows, and videos on the history and wildlife of the Reserve. Outside the Centre is a picnic area and playground.

Observation Tower: Spotting wildlife is an exciting activity for nature lovers. The Observation Tower is an ideal place from which to see the different animals in the Reserve, such as the Oryx, which is best seen in the early hours of the morning. This is also a good place for bird-watching, especially during the migration seasons.

Oryx Safari Trip: Visitors are given the opportunity to take a safari trip to see firsthand the living results of the international rescue efforts undertaken to save these endangered animals. Safari tours through the Oryx enclosure are available aboard RSCN vehicles.

Breeding Enclosures: Shawmari’s breeding enclosures also provide a small zoo, making the Reserve a popular place for children and school outings.

Azraq is a unique wetland oasis located in the heart of the semi-arid Jordanian eastern desert, one of several beautiful nature reserves managed by the RSCN. Its attractions include several natural and ancient-built pools, a seasonally flooded marshland, and a large mudflat known as Qa’a Al-Azraq. A wide variety of birds stop at the reserve each year to rest during their arduous migration routes between Asia and Africa. Some stay for the winter or breed within the protected areas of the wetland.

The best time to visit Al-Azraq is in late autumn, winter or spring. Winter rains often create pools and marshes over the reserve, which continue to attract many seasonal species of birds. The success of bird-watching visits depends largely on the amount of water that has accumulated in the reserve.

Geology:

Azraq has an interesting geological history. It was once a vast oasis, its pools filled by a complex network of aquifers fed mainly from the Jebel Druze area of southern Syria – the waters taking up to 50 years en route. Surrounding the oasis is about 60 sq.m. of silt, beneath which is a vast concentration of salt.

Dana Biosphere Reserve is an area of staggering beauty, history, and biodiversity. The only reserve in Jordan that encompasses the 4 different bio-geographical zones of the country (Mediterranean, Irano-Turanian, Saharo-Arabian and Sudanian), it is a melting pot of species from Europe, Africa and Asia. Such a combination of natural communities in a single area is unique in Jordan and many of Dana Biosphere Reserve’s animals and plants are very rare. So far, a total of 800 plant species and 449 animal species have been recorded in the Reserve, of which 25 are known to be endangered, including the Sand Cat, the Syrian Wolf, the Lesser Kestrel and the Spiny Tailed Lizard.

Activities: 

Such a complex and diverse environment provides a wide range of adventurous and relaxing activities. Visitors can leave their vehicles behind and escape into the beauty and remoteness of the Reserve along one of the many canyons and hiking trails. Local Bedouin guides are available for longer excursions (hiking, canyoning, and mountain biking), while many shorter trails can be explored unguided. Activities at Dana Biosphere Reserve Guesthouse include tours of the Ottoman-era Dana Biosphere Reserve Village, a gorgeous hike through the entire Reserve to Feynan Ecolodge, visits to Nabataean tombs, and relaxing on your very own cliff-perched balcony, surrounded by Dana’s magnificent views.

Magnificently set in a fold of the hills that rise from the Jordan Valley 78 km north of Amman, Pella; known in Arabic as Tabaqat Fahl; is one of the most ancient sites in Jordan and a favorite of archaeologists being exceptionally rich in antiquities. It is perfectly situated, for there is a spring here which issues into a small river and never runs dry. The tell itself seems to have been continuously occupied since Neolithic times for some flints from this period have been found there; and some recent finds 2 km north of the tell even date to Paleolithic times, around 100,000 years ago.

Pella is exceptionally rich in antiquities, some of which are exceedingly old. Besides the excavated ruins from the Greco-Roman period, including an Odeon (theatre), Pella offers visitors the opportunity to see the remains of a Chalcolithic settlement from the 4th millennium BC, the remains of Bronze and Iron Age walled cities, Byzantine churches and houses, an Early Islamic residential quarter, and a small medieval mosque.