Rasoun To Ajloun Castle
After spending one day in Amman (read my post One Day In Amman, Capital City Of Jordan) and having only one day left in Jordan, I have decided to explore a small part of the famous JORDAN TRAIL.
Jordan Trail is a long distance hiking trail in Jordan connecting the length of Jordan from Um Qais in the north to Aqaba in the south. This amazing trail is more than 650 kilometers long and takes ca. 40 days. It passes through over 50 villages and towns on its way. The landscape on the way is impressive and very diverse: wooded hills of the north, rugged wadis and cliffs overlooking the Jordan Rift Valley, rose rocks of Petra, sands and towering mountains in Wadi Rum and crystal waters of the Red Sea.
For thousands of years, ancient paths and trade routes have cut across the lands of today’s Jordan. Jordan was the centre of the King’s Highway, a trade route stretching from Egypt to Aqaba, and then north to Damascus. During the first centuries B.C. the Nabatean merchants extended the route further to Asia and southern Arabia making Jordan a centre of their empire, with Petra being a very important point on the route..Amman
JORDAN TRAIL – Rasoun to Ajloun Castle
This stage of the Jordan Trail is about 17 km long. I started my hike in at a Mosque in a very small village Rasoun. This place is not easy to find ! Use gps coordinates to locate this place Rasoun. My favorite application is maps.me which works also offline after downloading corresponding maps. The trail leads through beautiful landscape. It passes through villages Orjan and Baoun, Listib Mosque, Mar Elias church ruins and ends at Ajloun Castle.
MY TIPS
– Locals may invite you for arabic coffee (arabic: kahwa). Do not refuse ! I was invited by a young man in Baoun for a coffee and we were chatting about football although he only knew couple of english words.
– Visit Ajloun Forest Reserve.
– Spend the night at Rasoun Tourist Camp. I didn’t know about this camp when I was in Jordan. Seems a great place to stay for a night.
SAFETY
– Beware of shepherd dogs which you will encounter on the way. They could be quite aggressive. I was once saved by a shepherd when two of hist dogs attacked me. They often just throw stones to scary them. I always had one big stone in my pocket. It is probably a better option then killing shepherd dog with a knife. I imagine that the local would get quite angry when his dog gets killed by a hiker…
– Do not give money to local kids. I bought some fruits from small kids and 5 minutes later I had a bunch of kids on my back.
LINKS
www.jordantrail.org – The Jordan Trail Official Website
www.jordantrail.org – Rasoun to Ajloun Castle
www.visitjordan.com – Official Website of The Jordan Tourism Boar