Introduction
The North is completely different then the rest of the country. Traditionnally, they had much more water here, so the area is much greener.
Historically, there are plenty of things to see here, and also religious fanatics will find some things worth visiting. Here's a list of things to see:
- Jerash: +++++
- Ajlun: not done
- Pella: + but their cafetaria has great views
- Um Qais: ++, we were a bit unlucky with sunset, otherwise it should be ++++
- Abila: +++ see text
- Irbid museum: not done
- Baptism site: not done
- Mount Nebo: ++++
- Madaba: ++
Walking
The North has plenty of walks to do, for a full review of this you should check out the "Walking in Jordan".
We tried the Wadi AL Yabis. In the guide, it is mentionned as "One of the prettiest and most varied walks in Jordan, especially in spring" (Walking in Jordan p43). However, we were a bit disappointed. We did the walk with DESERT GUIDES for Tours & Tourism Services, P.O. Box 9177, Amman 11191, JORDAN,Tel. + 962-6-552-7230, Fax. + 962-6-552-0240,
Mob. + 962-79-5532-915,+ 962- 77 -532-915. Email:
desertgd@go.com.jo of
hjahshan@go.com.jo. We drove by minibus to Halawa and started the walk there at 11 am. At first you get some good views (but you'll see much better views in Mujib or Dana), and in spring you'll see plenty of flowers, really nice. Once you get into the valley, the scenery becomes a bit dull, mainly because there was no water in the river. After 8 km, you'll pass the water station, and you'll have water again with plenty of bamboo. This is nicer, but unfortunately, the path was washed away, so we had to turn back. (5/2004). This walk got the lowest rate by my group (6,25/10).
JerashJerash is a very beautiful place which you should not miss while in Jordan. entrance fee is 5 JD normally. A guide for 2 hours will cost 5 JD, and I really recommend taking a guide. 2 hours should be enough for the average visitor.
PellaThe archeological site is really not worth visiting. However, I would do a short detour to the Rest House
they have there as it has marvelous views over the site and the valley. You can also eat very well there. They also have a hotel with 15 beds which is supposed to be good.
Um QaisDue to a breakdown of our minibus, we arrived 1 hour later then expected (at 7.10 pm), so we didn't do the place justice. Also, sunset was very cloudy, but other people where very enthousiastic about it.
In this neighbourhood, there are also hot spings, so check it out.
AbilaThis is a rarely visited place. Someone of our group proposed to do this trip, and we agreed to do it. You should be prepared for some serious track finding, but the description in the Rough guide is quite good. From the road from Irbid, you'll see a T-junction with a mosque. There, continue for exactly 900 metres, and then start walking left in the olive yards. After 300 metres, you'll see a valley with the small site of Abila opposite. The rock graves are on this side of the valley.
In order to enjoy this place (which I did), you need to understand/accept a few things:
- Don't expect a massive historical site. Abila is in fact just the remains of a temple with some columns standing up
- Also the rock graves are not too special, AND you'll need to find the guy with the keys in order to let you in the graves. Rough guide talks of magnificent frescoes, but the one we saw were pretty damaged.
- The interesting thing about this trip is that it gives you a kind of "Indiana Jones" feeling, searching for hidden graves, not knowing whether you'll find them, and not knowing you'll find the guy with the keys of the graves.
We went there very early and saw some locals with their animals. At first it seemed we wouldn't find the graves, and we had breakfast at the ruins. But then a man came up and told us he had the keys, so he guided us around and we gave him a tip.
Mount NeboMount Nebo is a nice place for a short 30 minutes stop. The cross is nice, the views are good and also the mosaics inside the church are pretty good. entrance is 1 JD normally (5/2004).
Go to Wadi Mujib
