The stone lanes
Old houses and a small mosque.
יעקב — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Bernard Gagnon — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Lowcarb23 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Bernard Gagnon — CC BY-SA 3.0 · jcookfisher — CC BY 2.0
Dana is an old stone village near Tafilah on the edge of the great Wadi Dana, looking out over Wadi Araba. It is the gateway to Dana Biosphere Reserve, one of Jordan's leading reserves, and draws walkers and view seekers with its quiet lanes, stone houses and wide sunset panorama. The present village has been lived in for about 500 years, and some sources say Bedouin of the Al 'Ata'ata tribe from Hebron built it in Ottoman times. Before that the site saw some 6,000 years of settlement, thanks to its defensible position, fertile soil and water. It is said to keep many features of 19th-century Jordanian villages, and many families have moved to nearby Qadisiyya. You walk narrow lanes between stone walls, some houses lived in and others in ruins, with a small mosque and stone minaret at the centre. Around the edges are small hotels and the guest house of the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature. From the village edge the wadi falls away in red walls to the plains beyond, and reserve trails set out from here, including one down to Feynan in about six hours. It is 41 km in a straight line from Petra and 145 km from Amman, reached by car along the King's Highway. Short trails circle the village, while long ones need a guide booked ahead. Bring a jacket, as evenings are cool, respect residents' privacy, and ask before taking pictures near the houses.
Old houses and a small mosque.
Red walls towards Wadi Araba.
Starting at the village edge.
Dana village, near Tafilah, southern Jordan
Yes, it has small hotels and a guest house. Book ahead in spring and autumn.
For long trails yes, while short ones around the village can be walked alone.
