Places · Jordan

Natural Wonders of Jordan: The 5 Most Beautiful Places to Visit

5 places in the atlas

Jordan is largely desert, cut by the great Jordan Rift Valley — part of the same tectonic rift running down into Africa. In the south, Wadi Rum is a wilderness of towering sandstone and granite mountains rising from red sand, carved by wind into arches and canyons and rich in ancient rock art. To the west, the rift plunges to the Dead Sea, a hypersaline lake some 430 metres below sea level — the lowest exposed land on the planet — where swimmers float on water almost too salty for life. Dark desert skies make Jordan superb for stargazing. Below are the 5 natural wonders of Jordan in the atlas — the most beautiful places to build a trip around, each with what makes it remarkable, when to go, and how to reach it. Best overall time: Spring (March–May) and autumn (September–November) for comfortable temperatures across the desert and rift valley; summers are very hot.

Dana Biosphere Reserve

Tafilah Governorate, along the Great Rift Valley, Jordan

Jordan's largest nature reserve — a sweep of mountain ridges and sandstone canyons tumbling from a 1,500-metre plateau down to the desert of Wadi Araba, spanning several bioclimatic zones in a single dramatic descent.

Canyon Middle East

Ma'in Hot Springs

Between Madaba and the Dead Sea, Madaba Governorate, Jordan

A cluster of geothermal waterfalls tumbling down a desert canyon near the Dead Sea — hot, mineral-rich water heated deep underground and prized for its healing warmth since Roman times.

Hot spring Middle East

The Dead Sea

Jordan Rift Valley, Jordan / Israel / West Bank

The lowest point on the surface of the Earth — a hypersaline lake so dense with salt and minerals that swimmers float effortlessly, cradled in the desert far below sea level.

Lake Middle East

Wadi Mujib

Mujib Biosphere Reserve, east of the Dead Sea, Jordan

A sandstone river canyon plunging into the Dead Sea — the lowest nature reserve on Earth — where a warm perennial stream lets visitors wade, swim and scramble up a slot gorge between towering red walls.

Canyon Middle East

Wadi Rum

Southern Jordan

The 'Valley of the Moon' — a vast desert of red and gold sand studded with towering sandstone and granite mountains, sculpted by wind into arches, canyons, and sheer cliffs beneath enormous skies.

Desert & dunes Middle East