King's Highway


 * For the King's Roads, see King's Road (Finland) and King's Road (disambiguation).

King's Highway is a region in Jordan. The name comes from the ancient trade route that ran right through it.

Crusader castles

 * - built in 1115 AD, also known as Al-Shobak or Shawbak. Hard to get to without a car or driver, but it is on a hill with spectacular views. Most of the castle is a pile of rubble but there are underground rooms to explore, including the staircase (through a metal door that should be open) that goes down 375 steps to the old wells. Take a torch, and note that at the bottom, you can climb up metal rungs to a hatch next to the road below the castle, then walk back up the road. 1 JD or included in the Jordan Pass.
 * - small crusader castle close to the town of Wadi Musa

Understand
The King's Highway trip to Petra starts from Madaba. It gives visitors a good opportunity to see people in the villages during their daily life, and the landscape is very nice: If you come in April you can see black irises on the way. It's a very nice stop to see the canyon of Wadi Mujeb with a 950-meter depth. Crossing this canyon you get to Karak and do a visit to the castle. After Karak toward Tafila you can do a stop to see the mountains of Dana and then after Tafila another castle named Shaoubak. Then you get to Petra. This is a nice trip and more worthwhile to do than the desert highway.

Eat
On the King's Highway there are few places to eat. The stop at Karak to visit the castle will give you time to have lunch within some restaurants near the site.

Sleep
You can stay overnight in Karak or at Dana Reserve.