King's Highway in Jordan: Itinerary, Best Stops & Tips
Driving King's Highway in Jordan was one of the highlights of visiting the country. In this blog post, we share with you King's Highway itinerary, best things to see and do such as Madaba, Mount Nebo, Mukawir, Umm ar-Rasas or Karak Castle, and we will also give you tips on when is the best time to drive the highway, what to expect from the road-trip, how much things cost, where to stay. In general, this is the only travel guide for King's Highway you will ever need.
According to our opinion, the visit of Jordan would not be complete without driving the famous King's Highway.
One of the most famous roads in the Middle East, King’s Highway is winding from north to south of the country and offers a large number of best things to see.
From Roman ruins and columns, mosaics, pilgrimage sites, crusaders castles to spectacular sceneries of Wadi Mujib, we promise that this road trip will have it all.
King's Highway is an ancient road, and a large number of must-visit stops will take you back in time. All you need for the trip is to be well-prepared and know what to expect.
But except for the fact that the road is the destination itself, the reason why it is traveled by the vast majority of travelers visiting Jordan lies somewhere else.
King's Highway, alias road 35, connects the Amman, the capital city of Jordan, with the crown jewel of this small kingdom, with the Nabatean city of Petra.
We do not want to disparage here the importance of the sites along King's Highway, but we must be frank here - when travelers think of Jordan, they usually have Petra in mind.
However, this is completely fine, every country has its highlight, and thanks to it the lesser-known places can only exceed your expectations.
KING'S HIGHWAY
When you look on a map of Jordan, you will clearly see that three roads are connecting Amman with the south of the country.
King's Highway is the middle one, and you might be wondering why not to take the left one leading around the Dead Sea, or the right one, known as Desert Highway when traveling down south.
Well, you will most likely not have that much time to explore all three of them, but you for sure do not want to skip the King's Highway.
Not that known fact is that King's Highway actually leads also north from Amman, but travelers usually start the trip either in Amman or in Madaba.
This stretch of road offers the largest number of stops, wonderful views, and you will have a chance to see how the common life in Jordan looks like (and can imagine how it looked like thousands of years ago). If you are just working on your Jordan itinerary, try to plan it as a loop.
This is what we did, and for the way back, we opted for Dead Sea Highway alias Jordan Valley Highway, which was equally wonderful, we could swim in the Dead Sea and drove around Wadi Mujib canyon.
We did not travel Desert Highway, but what we could read when preparing for our trip, there is not much to see, and the road really serves as a transport route for people who need to get quickly from north to south.
Had we had to decide again if we take Dead Sea Highway or King's Highway, we would have opted for the latter one, and then got to the Dead Sea on a day trip from either Madaba or when traveling in the Jordan Valley area.
In this blog post, we want to inspire you to travel King's Highway and explore some of the best attractions along the way.
Except for what to see we will also share with you tips on how to travel along King's Highway, how much time you need, when is the best time to travel, and where to eat.
Simply put, we aim to provide you with all necessary information, we think are helpful for your trip to be as smooth as possible.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF KING'S HIGHWAY
By following King's Highway, it is not hard to get back in time.
The path has been extensively traveled for as long as 5000 years, and when you will be driving the road, you can imagine how streams of caravans must have undergone the long journey under the unpromising sun.
From the very beginning, King's Highway served as a trading route, and it was much longer than today's Jordan part.
The path began in Heliopolis in Egypt and ended in Resafa, which is a city in present Syria. The part of the highway you are going to travel was used by Nabateans as a trade route, later during the Roman period, the highway apart from trade served also for military purposes, and was named after Emperor Trajan, Via Traiana Nova.
Later in the Byzantine times, Christianity was on the rise and a large number of pilgrims walked the road in order to get to Mount Nebo, a hill from where Moses allegedly saw the Promised Land.
From the 7th century, during the rule of Muslims, King's Highway was part of the sacred way to Mecca. 12th century brought the Crusader era, several castles were built along the path, but the area remained under Muslim control.
As you can see, for all those times King's Highway was heavily traveled and was an important point for many people of different nationalities and religions.
BEST THINGS TO SEE ALONG KING'S HIGHWAY
First and foremost, before you start exploring the best things to see along King's Highway, it is necessary to set your expectations right.
We do not know why, but in the beginning, we imagined road 35 to be an almost abandoned route slithering through the length of Jordan, which would be dotted by numerous must-visit places.
But the start of our journey was a bit different experience.
First, the traffic was quite heavy, we were almost all the time passing through small villages and settlements, so we had to drive really slow, and the top attractions in the northern part of the road were always at least 30 minutes detour off the main road, which was time-consuming.
When we reached Dhiban the situation changed, from this point the road was really less trafficked, the drive became more scenic, and we also started to be confident that we will be able to make it to most of the sights on our list.
Finally, it might be a good idea to get a Jordan Pass as some of the sights along King’s Highway are included, plus you will need it the next day in Petra.
Here are the best things and top attractions you can visit when driving King's Highway.
MADABA
Although the road 35 starts in the very north part of Jordan, and it is closely bypassing Amman (which is a travel destination itself), for most of the travelers' King's Highway starts in Madaba.
Madaba was the first destination we visited in Jordan as we headed there straight from Queen Alia International Airport.
We had only a half-day in Madaba, but it was enough time to see the best the city has to offer. The center of Madaba is compact and easily navigated on foot. If you've arrived in Madaba and do not stay here overnight, it is not hard to find a spot to park on the streets.
The absolute highlight of Madaba is a large Byzantine mosaic on the floor in Saint George's Church.
When visiting Jordan, be prepared you will see your share of mosaics, but this one in Madaba is truly breathtaking. This mosaic is the oldest map of Palestine, but it also shows other places such as Jerusalem, Gaza, Dead Sea or Nile Delta.
Then it is worth it to continue to see two Archeological Parks in Madaba. Archeological Park I features the oldest mosaic found in Jordan, relics of Roman columns, and as it was turned into an open-air museum, you will find here other relics found in the wider Madaba area.
Archeological Park II features Burnt Palace, Martyr's Church, and yet another mosaics and remnants which document Roman presence. Other places you should consider visiting is King Hussain Mosque, Carpet City, St. John Baptist Roman Catholic Church (climb to the top of the tower to get a birds-eye view of the city), Madaba Museum, or Church of the Apostles.
No worries, even if this seems like a big number of places to visit, you will be able to see most of the attractions in let's say three to four hours.
Therefore, we recommend you to visit Madaba day before you actually set off for King's Highway road trip, especially if you plan to stop a lot and take as many detours as possible. Otherwise, you would spend a lot of time in the city, which even though it is worthwhile, then you would not have much time to drive to Petra in only one day.
Of course, you can split the drive, but more about it later.
MOUNT NEBO
Only fifteen minutes' drive from Madaba is another must-visit place, Mount Nebo. It is a short detour off King's Highway, but it is definitely worth the trip.
Mount Nebo is a place of high significance as this site is mentioned in the Bible, and according to it, Mount Nebo is the hill Moses ascended and saw from here Promised Land for the first time. Mount Nebo is an important pilgrimage site, but travelers of all faith should consider including it in the itinerary.
Nowadays, Mount Nebo is a small complex on the top of the hill, where you must pay the entrance fee, and then you will be allowed to walk to a platform offering a breathtaking view of the Death Sea, but also Bethlehem, Jericho or even Jerusalem.
The top of Mount Nebo also features Moses Memorial Church (dress appropriately so you can go inside as this little church is wonderful) and Brazen Serpent Monument in front of the church.
In a leisure pace, allow yourself something between 30 to 45 minutes for the visit.
MUKAWIR
On our King's Highway itinerary, Mukawir was a place with a big question mark. We were not sure if a detour which would take us almost two hours was worth it, but at the end of the day, we were happy we followed our gut and did not skip it.
Mukawir is 700 meters high hill overlooking the Dead Sea with remnants of Roman ruins on its top.
Even though the Roman columns are quite impressive and very photogenic, it is not the main reason to travel there (unless you are a history geek). No, it is the scenery why you need to travel to Mukawir.
As this site is not that popular among travelers rushing the highway to Petra, the atmosphere was even more pleasant since it was just me and Martin on the top of the hill.
The road to Mukawir led us through the rural part of Jordan, and we finally could get an insight into local people's lives, we could see shepherds' tents scattered across the valley, and overall this side trip is really high on our list of must-visit places in Jordan.
UMM AR-RASAS
When we got back to King's Highway from Mukawir, we did not have to drive long, and there was another supposedly best thing to see along the road, Umm ar-Rasas.
Once we reached Dhiban, we turned left, and the road led us to a former Roman military camp.
Umm ar-Rasas site is listed in UNESCO (there are three more cultural UNESCO sites in Jordan), and except for the ruins, this place is important as it is mentioned in the Bible.
And what you can expect from Umm ar-Rasas?
The real highlight is Saint Stephen Church, which is home to the largest intact museum in Jordan. Then, you will find here Saint Paul Church and other smaller churches, but do not expect to find here real buildings, since many structures were severely damaged, and the best you can see are the basics.
The defensive walls in Umm ar-Rasas provide a hint that this place was used for military purposes.
We were quite surprised that we could walk freely in the area, although we recommend you to stick to designated paths. Excavations here are still ongoing, and many mosaics are still being uncovered.
You need quite a lot of imagination to get a sense of how this place must have looked like centuries ago, but if time allows, stop by here.
AL LAHUN
This site is usually not included on any King's Highway itinerary, and we are pretty sure not many people know about it, but if you've visited Umm ar-Rasas, it would be a shame not to get there, as it is very close.
From Umm ar-Rasas follow the road back to Dhiban, and after approximately 7 kilometers, turns left. You will even see a sign, and this road will, in a few moments, take you to one of the best viewpoints in Jordan.
The views across Wadi Mujib are wonderful, and worth a couple of minutes of your time. This site is not on Google Maps, but you will find it in the Maps.me app.
This place is a great example why it’s worth considering a rental car for the trip around Jordan.
WADI MUJIB VIEWPOINT
Once you get to Dhiban, drive for another approximately three kilometers, and you will reach the iconic viewpoint of Wadi Mujib.
Stop on a designated parking lot, and enjoy the scenery for a while. On the parking lot is a small coffee shop and you can also buy a souvenir or a carpet.
Wadi Mujib is often nicknamed Grand Canyon of Jordan, and we must admit it is really photogenic.
Down below you can see the one kilometer deep and four kilometers wide canyon, and the paved road slithering through it. It is still the King's Highway, so prepare yourself for an unforgettable journey.
Have your camera ready, and be prepared to stop many times along the way down to the valley.
The series of switchbacks will take you to Wadi Mujib Dam, which you will cross, and then the zig-zag road will lead you uphill, as you must ascend every meter you've just descended. This was one of our favorite parts of King's Highway, so take your time.
From this point, the highway was much more scenic.
KARAK CASTLE
At the southern part of the King's Highway waited for us yet another top things we had on our itinerary.
Perched atop a hill sits Karak Castle, a former Crusader castle and one of the largest Crusader castles in the Middle East, which was built in the 12th century to control the area and to collect taxes.
We were so glad we made it to Karak (sometimes referred as Kerak Castle) before the closing time as by that time we were really behind the schedule as the previous stops took us a bit longer than we had expected.
But still, we had approximately an hour and a half, and we used it fully to walk around the castle complex.
Even though we could read that some parts of Karak are quite run down, on the other hand, we appreciated that some parts of the castle were well-kept, and we even spent a nice share of our time in the castle in dimply-lit underground passageways, which were not only interesting, but they also provided us with much-needed shade.
Take your time and explore every nook of the Karak Castle. It’s so different from the castles on Desert Castle Loop such as Qasr Azraq, Qasr Kharana, or Qusayr Amra.
There are quite many informative signs around, so you can get a sense of how the structure was built, and for what purposes were some of the rooms built. Since Karak Castle stands on the King's Highway, which is historically significant, it should not surprise you that the rule over the castle changed quite many times during the centuries.
This is an explanation of why Karak is a fine example of the blend of European, Byzantine, and Arab architectural styles. And yes, the views from the castle are topnotch.
DANA BIOSPHERE RESERVE
Dana is Jordan's largest nature reserve and is well-known for its rugged terrain, flowers in bloom (in spring), and many hiking trails. As we had only one day for driving King's Highway, we did not make it to Dana Biosphere Reserve, but if you are an avid hiker, you might make an effort and put this place on your itinerary.
If you do so, then it is necessary to choose the right trail depending on your preferences and physical abilities. Also consider, if you will be needing a guide or not.
We only could see the terrain and the hilly landscape of Dana Reserve from our car, and if we will visit Jordan again in the future, we will definitely put this destination on our bucket list.
SHOBAK CASTLE
The only attraction from our list we were not able to visit was Shobak Castle. As in early March, it was getting dark around 6 PM and most of the sites were closing at 5 PM, we simply did not have enough time to get there.
Shobak Castle, also known as Montreal, is another Crusader castle in the area, which is overshadowed by Karak Castle as Karak was larger and more important.
Also, Karak Castle is, at the moment, in a better state and Shobak still waits to be properly discovered by international tourists.
The castle for sure deserves your attention, you only need to plan your time along King's Road better than us.
LITTLE PETRA
Little Petra, as the name suggests, is Petra's smaller sister, and a place which is often overlooked by many travelers who had already experienced a day in the UNESCO-listed site.
But according to us, Little Petra deserves your attention. It is a short detour from King's Highway, but definitely worth your time.
It is enough to spend in Little Petra only an hour or so, but even if you do not have that much time, we recommend you to drive at least a short stretch leading from Wadi Musa to Little Petra, the views are breathtaking.
PETRA
Although King's Highway does not end in Petra, for many travelers it is the end of the trip.
The absolute highlight, and the reason why people travel to Jordan at all, was on our bucket list for a long time. Petra, for sure, deserves a separate post, but here we would like to only shortly outline what you can expect.
The Nabatean city, carved into pink sandstone offers a large number of hiking trails, unbelievable tombs, theaters, stunning viewpoints, and much more.
We believe you've already seen the insta-famous photo of Treasury, which is supposedly the highlight of the city of Petra, but honestly, there are even much more unbelievable structures within the complex.
One full day is the minimum that you should spend in Petra, so do not plan traveling along King's Highway the same day.
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO ROAD TRIP KING'S HIGHWAY
It is 220 kilometers from Madaba to Wadi Musa, and the drive along King's Highway will take you about four hours. But that would be only in the case you would not be stopping along the road!
As you can see, time management is essential here, and you should start your day as early as possible. We got up the day we traveled King's Highway before 7 AM and arrived in Petra after 8 PM. During this time we were able to see everything we wanted except for Shobak Castle and Dana Reserve (but we did not plan to visit this one).
If you plan on doing this trip in only one day, it is going to be a long one, and you should be mentally prepared for it.
On the other hand, we found King's Highway so entertaining, that we did not even pay attention that it takes that long, only the last 100 kilometers were a bit annoying, because it was dark already, and the omnipresent speed bumps and police controls were a bit too much.
It can be said that King's Highway can be done in only one day, but for sure, if you plan on taking your time in Jordan slowly, and want to, for example, do a hike or two in Dana Biospheric Reserve you are going to need at least two days.
For us, one day was absolutely fine, but elderly travelers or families with kids might find visiting all the sites in only one day quite challenging.
THE BEST TIME TO TRAVEL KING'S HIGHWAY
Your King's Highway itinerary should go hand in hand with the time of the year you will be in Jordan.
It is quite important to know before you go how much daylight you will get during your travels, and then make realistic plans. We've written a full post on the best time to travel to Jordan, but we will summarize it here for you in a nutshell.
Jordan is an all-year-round destination, but it is possible to experience here four distinct seasons.
Winter from December to February is cold, rainy, it can even snow, and on average, you will get only six to seven hours of daylight in a day. That does not mean you cannot travel King's Highway, but if we were you, we would split the journey in two days to see all the highlights.
We traveled Jordan at the beginning of spring, and not only the weather was very pleasant, but the days were quite long, and we managed to see a lot in only one day.
April is usually the most popular month to visit Jordan, so expect to meet many travelers along the way.
Summer is characterized by heat, and even though the daylight and opening hours are really long, it is not the best time to travel in Jordan because of the dust, haze, and unbearable temperatures.
Another pleasant season is autumn from September to November. It is a bit similar to spring when it comes to daylight, but it is not that terribly hot, and it can even sometimes rain.
WAYS TO TRAVEL ALONG KING'S HIGHWAY
What we know, there are six ways to travel along King's Highway.
Rental Car
Having a rental car is the most popular way how to get around Jordan.
Public Transport is not that reliable, and minibusses often do not serve lesser-known points of interest. According to our opinion, only thanks to the fact we rented a car, we had a chance to see all the top things along King's Highway in only one day.
Driving in Jordan is quite easy, once you get used to it, but more about it in the next part of the text.
Public Transport
In Jordan a few tourist bus lines are connecting, for example, Amman with Petra, but it would be hard to rely solely on public transport along King's Highway. Local minibusses are running the road 35 till Dhiban, from this point the service is really infrequent.
Although we usually recommend getting around a country by public transport (it is often very tiring but fun and part of the travel experience), we think you would be missing a lot here.
Some places like Mukawir or Umm ar-Rasas are quite remote, and although you could be able to catch a random bus, you would have to wait a long time to get back to King's Highway. Therefore, we would really recommend this option only to true adventure travelers, or long-term travelers who are not on a strict schedule.
Traveling along King's Highway with visiting the top sights would take you days by public transport.
Hire a Driver
We know that driving in a foreign country can be intimidating, and hiring a driver will help you to avoid that.
We were actually quite surprised how popular hiring a driver in Jordan is. But it makes sense. You can hire a driver for places such as King's Highway where it is almost inevitable, and then you can take a bus to destinations where it is possible.
You can easily find a driver in either Petra, Amman or Madaba, the advantage is, that you still can plan your itinerary, and visit many sights as possible.
The price for one day is usually between 80 - 100 USD, so money-wise it is worth it for a group of travelers who can share the cost. The rule of thumb here is to bargain.
Hitchhiking
Honestly, we did not see a single hitchhiker along King's Highway, but it was probably because we traveled in the country during the off-season.
We are not fans of hitchhiking unless it is not unavoidable, or we know that’s perfectly safe, as it was on our trip to Patagonia. If this is your travel style, you might be lucky.
Always put your safety first. This option is again for people traveling on an open schedule.
Biking
We saw only one biker along King's Highway, so if you are a cycling enthusiast in a good shape, this is also a way to go.
When biking on King's Highway, be careful.
Tour
Another alternative how to get from Amman to Petra along King's Highway is with a tour.
A full-day King's Highway tour will show you some of the best places along the road, and although you won't be able to stop everywhere you want, you will see most of the top sights.
This option is great for travelers, who prefer to have everything planned, and do not want to deal with transport.
TIPS ON DRIVING IN JORDAN
Driving in Jordan is a chapter on its own. There is no need to be worried, you will make it as thousands of travelers before you, there are only a couple of things you should know.
The road rules in Jordan are quite different from those in the West. Rule number one, you should be driving on the right side of the road. Also don’t speed.
Otherwise, it is a bit of freestyle. People in Jordan usually drive as they want, sometimes way too slow, but some of them are speeding, you will soon find out that in one lane can fit three cars, that a car can stop on the highway, a car pulled over can all of the sudden get going, that drivers usually do not use blinkers, well, it's fun.
In general, you should exercise caution when driving in Jordan, and sometimes you should predict all unpredictable situations.
What we found the most annoying was the speed bumps. Sometimes they are signposted, sometimes not, and it can be hard to spot them, especially after dark.
Also, if you happen to be driving at night, it is good to know that locals have mounted extra front lights on their cars, which can often blind you for a while.
We were stopped by the police only once along King's Highway, but when we slowed down and the officer saw we are tourists, he let us continue.
The traffic along King's Highway was heavier till we reached Dhiban, then the traffic died down, and driving became much more pleasant.
Travel Insurance
We never leave home without travel insurance that was designed to cover our expenses if something goes wrong during the trip.
Travel insurance protects against theft, flight delays, injury, illness, cancellations, and much more.
World Nomads provides travel insurance for travelers to cover their trip essentials, including sports and adventure activities.
SafetyWing is affordable travel insurance for backpackers, long-term travelers, and digital nomads.
Travel smarter and safer!
WHERE TO STAY ALONG KING'S HIGHWAY
If you plan on traveling along King's Highway in one day, you might want to follow our journey, and spend the first night before the road trip in Amman or Madaba, and the second night in Wadi Musa, a gateway to Petra.
But if you prefer to take it slowly and split the journey into more days, you will be needing to find a place to stay along King's Highway.
We've handpicked the best places to stay along the road 35.
Madaba | Mosaic City Hotel - Great location, friendly atmosphere, tasty breakfast, and helpful staff are the main features in this hotel. It is worth it to ask for a room with a balcony facing the garden.
Karak | The Old House - This relatively cheap and traditional house offers one of the best accommodations in Karak. The location is great, staff friendly, rooms quiet, and it is worth it to pay a bit extra for breakfast.
Dana Reserve | Dana Village Camp - Amazing view of the valley, great location to many hiking trails, delicious food, and friendly staff, are the reasons, which should convince you to make your reservation here.
Petra | Town Season Hotel - This well-rated hotel has beautiful decor, the staff is friendly and the location is also very convenient. This is for sure one of the best pics for visiting Petra the next day.
EAT & DRINK ON KING'S HIGHWAY
King's Highway is dotted with small villages, and from time to time larger settlements such as Dhiban, or even larger cities as Karak.
Therefore you do not need to worry that you would be starving along the road.
Well, we were starving as we were kind of behind the schedule, so at the end of the day we were glad that we bought pastries the day before in Madaba, but you won't have a problem finding a local restaurant or grocery store along the road.
Travel Resources
Here you can find links to all the travel resources we use and which you might find helpful when planning your next holiday.
Accommodation: When looking for accommodation, we usually search hotels via Booking.com or Hostelworld.
Tours: Although we love to travel independently, some places are better to visit with a guided tour.
We prefer GetYourGuide for its easy-to-use interface and solid reputation. Another great alternative is Viator.
Rental Cars: When going on a road trip, we always use Rentalcars.com, a reliable site for booking a rental car in advance.
Flight Tickets: When looking for flight tickets, you can search Skyscanner to find the best price.
Travel Insurance: World Nomads and SafetyWing cover against risks of travel.
