Two main roads head south from Amman to the Red Sea port of Aqaba. The Desert Highway is a fast road cutting through a swathe of empty desert which only takes a few hours to run the length of the country. The King's Highway is a slower but far more historic and scenic road, passing through many of the main towns and sights of this archeological rich area of Jordan.
The first stop on the King's Highway is Madaba, just half an hour south of Amman, famous for its many mosaics from where you can take a side trip to Mount Nebo from where Moses saw the Promised Land. South of Madaba the road twists and turns as it winds down to the base of Wadi Mujib, a drop of over 600 metres and an impressive backdrop for photographs. Kerak is the next major stop, famous for its hilltop crusader castle. The village of Dana, entrance to the Dana Nature Reserve and a great spot for trekking is not far from the highway and has good accommodation to break your journey. Continuing south, the crusader castle of Showbak lies not far from the highway, from where it is only a short drive to the ancient Nabatean city of Petra, Jordan's most famous tourist attraction.
