“JORDAN
The Jordan Trail, a long-distance hiking route from Umm Qais in the north to Aqaba in the south, was recently created by the government’s adventure travel wing. The 400-mile expedition strings the best of the nation’s natural highlights into a journey of biblical proportions—it’s meant to take 40 days and 40 nights—cutting through the jagged. Dana Biosphere Reserve and the rock-hewn city of Petra before ending at the Red Sea. Trekkers are encouraged to stay in Bedouin camps and eco lodges along the way, whether they tackle the entire trail or one of eight 50-mile-long sections. A highlight is Wadi Rum, aptly referred to as the Valley of the Moon …Explore the landscape by camel, on foot, or via four-wheel drive during the day, then stargaze from your bed at night. And don’t forget Jordan’s capital: By May, Amman will welcome two new hotels, a W and a St. Regis, offering a plush way to bookend your dusty desert explorations. When to go: April and October, when daytime temperatures of 75 to 80 degrees F are perfectly suited to Petra hikes and Dead Sea swims. When not to go: December to February. Desert nights are cold year-round, and they’re punishing in the winter; Amman actually got snow last year.”
