Things to Do in Jordan: City Guides & Audio Tours

The best things to do in Jordan include exploring ancient cities, tracing the history of the Nabataeans and Roman world, and experiencing landscapes that range from the Jordan Valley to the Red Sea. Jordan is a country at the crossroads of Asia, Africa and Europe, with a long history shaped by kingdoms, empires, trade routes and changing borders. Neywo offers free audio guides for 4 cities in Jordan, with 45 narrated places in total and 5 walking tours.

What to see and do in Jordan

Jordan is compact, but its landscapes and history change sharply from one region to the next. These are the main places and themes to discover on a journey through the country.

Explore Amman, Jordan’s capital

Amman is the capital, the largest city in Jordan and the most populous city in the Levant. Its history reflects the many powers that have ruled the region, from the Iron Age kingdoms to the Greek and Roman periods, Byzantine rule and successive Islamic caliphates.

The city is a useful starting point for understanding Jordan today as well as its past. Arabic is the official language, while English is widely used in commerce, banking and education. Amman is also part of a country that has welcomed people displaced by conflicts in neighbouring countries, including Palestinian refugees, Syrians and Christian Iraqis.

Among the city’s most important narrated places are the Temple of Hercules, the Roman Theatre, The Jordan Museum and King Abdullah I Mosque. Discover more with the Amman city guide.

Visit Petra, the Nabataean capital

Petra is one of the defining places to visit in Jordan. In the third century BC, the Nabataeans built a kingdom centred on Petra, establishing a powerful presence in the region. Greek and Roman influence later followed, as it did across other parts of the Southern Levant.

The city’s archaeological remains reveal the depth of Jordan’s historical layers. Neywo’s narrated places in Petra include Al Khazneh, Petra Theatre, Petra and Qasr al-Bint. The city is also one of the clearest examples of how trade, political power and cultural influence shaped this part of the ancient world. Continue with the Petra guide.

Discover the ancient city of Jerash

Jerash represents the Greek and Roman chapter of Jordan’s history. Several cities in the region formed the Decapolis, a group of cities connected by the cultural and political influence of the Greek and Roman world. Jerash is among the country’s most important sites for understanding that period.

The site also belongs to a much longer story. Before Roman influence, the region was home to the Iron Age kingdoms of Ammon, Moab and Edom; afterwards, it passed through Byzantine rule and became part of successive Islamic caliphates. The Jerash guide provides a narrated introduction to the city.

Spend time in Aqaba and by the Red Sea

In the southwest, Jordan reaches the Red Sea along a small coastline by the Gulf of Aqaba. Aqaba offers a different setting from the inland highlands and desert plateau, connecting Jordan to the sea and to the wider geography of the Red Sea.

The city’s narrated places include Aqaba, Aqaba Governorate, Aqaba Archaeological Museum and Aqaba Church. Its heritage reflects the historical importance of this southern part of the country, where landscapes, movement and cultural exchange meet. See the Aqaba city guide.

See the Jordan Rift Valley and the Dead Sea landscape

The Jordan River forms much of Jordan’s northwestern border as it flows into the Dead Sea, within the Jordan Rift Valley. The land around the Dead Sea and Wadi Araba is mountainous in places, while the country’s highlands have a Mediterranean climate.

This is one of Jordan’s most striking geographical contrasts. Much of the east is an arid plateau marked by oases and seasonal streams, while farther east and northeast the landscape becomes desert. Jordan’s water scarcity is a central fact of life in this semi-arid country and helps explain the sharp differences between its regions.

Experience the country’s highlands and desert

Jordan’s vegetation changes with altitude, rainfall and distance from the Mediterranean. Spring can bring a brief burst of flowering plants after winter rain, and more than 2,000 plant species have been recorded in the country. Forests cover less than 2 percent of Jordan, mainly in the mountainous northwest, where Aleppo pine grows alongside other vegetation.

Beyond the forests, the landscape becomes scrub and then steppe. The country’s plants include black iris and acacia, while the eastern and northeastern areas are increasingly arid. Travelling across these landscapes makes Jordan’s geographical variety clear: Mediterranean highlands, the Jordan Valley, mountain regions, plateau and desert all form part of the same country.

A country shaped by history and movement

Jordan’s historical character comes from the succession of peoples and political systems that have occupied or governed the land. People lived here from the Paleolithic period, followed by the Iron Age kingdoms of Ammon, Moab and Edom. The Nabataean kingdom centred on Petra, and Greek and Roman influence later brought the cities of the Decapolis.

After Byzantine rule, the region became part of successive Islamic caliphates and later the Ottoman Empire. In the early twentieth century, centralisation and Turkification policies helped fuel Arab nationalist feeling and contributed to the Great Arab Revolt during the First World War. After the former Ottoman Syria was divided, the Emirate of Transjordan was established under British protection. Independence was recognised in 1946, when the country became the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

That history remains visible in Jordan’s cities, archaeological sites and cultural landscape. It also helps explain the country’s modern identity, shaped by Arabic language and culture, Sunni Islam, Arab Christian communities and the arrival of refugees from neighbouring conflicts.

Download Neywo and explore Jordan at your own pace

Neywo has free audio guides for 4 cities in Jordan, covering 45 narrated places in total through 5 walking tours. Narration is available in 11 languages.

The app tells the story of each place as you reach it, at your own pace, with no group and no schedule. Choose a city, follow a walk and listen as Jordan’s history and landscapes unfold around you.