Since its acceptance of the World Heritage Convention on May 5, 1975, Jordan has accumulated a total of seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites, an impressive number for such a small country.
Year after year, the World Heritage Committee sits together to name the newest additions to the World Heritage List, valuing new entries for their outstanding universal value. Since Jordan has earned itself not one but two new entries to the list in the last five years, we thought we’d give you our two cents on them.
In this list, you will five UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Jordan that we think you cannot miss on your own Jordan trip. These sites we have either visited ourselves or put on our list for your next visit to the Middle East.
Key Takeaways
- Jordan has seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including Petra, Wadi Rum, and Bethany Beyond the Jordan, each offering unique historical and cultural experiences.
- Petra is famous for its rock-cut architecture and was a major trading hub in ancient times; it’s a must-visit site known as the Rose City.
- Wadi Rum, known as the Valley of the Moon, offers stunning desert landscapes and ancient rock art, perfect for adventurous travellers.
- Bethany Beyond the Jordan is a significant pilgrimage site believed to be where Jesus was baptized, featuring archaeological remains like churches and baptism ponds.
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Hitting Heritages Sites in Jordan? Stay at these Hotels
Between desert castles in the Eastern Desert and natural beauty in Wadi Rum, a comfortable hotel is just as important to your Jordan itinerary as the heritage sites you plan to hit.
These are the best hotels at or around Jordan’s World Heritage Sites:
Petra | Mövenpick Resort Petra | from $ 124 per night | |
Wadi Rum Protected Area | Memories Aicha Luxury Camp | from $ 226 per night | |
Quseir Amra | InterContinental Amman | from $ 148 per night | |
Umm Al-Jimal | Pretal Hotel | from $ 78 per night | |
Bethany Beyond the Jordan | Mövenpick Resort & Spa | from $ 140 per night |
Petra: One of the Seven Wonders of the World
If you only have time to visit one UNESCO World Heritage Site in Jordan, it has to be Petra. This rock-cut city near modern-day Wadi Musa is not only a World Heritage Site, but also one of the Seven Wonders of the world. It goes without saying that you HAVE to visit a site with such accolades.
Commonly known as the Rose City or the Lost City, Petra is an ancient city in Southern Jordan that was first established by the Nabataeans. As a major trade hub, Petra came to flourish under many empires that passed through the region, among them the Roman Empire.
What makes the city unlike any other, is the way it’s built. Rather than building between the valleys of Wadi Araba, the Nabataeans cut into the soft pink sandstone cliffs. This way they not only created dwellings, but also temples, theatres, mausoleums and a full-blown water-management system.
Over the centuries, Petra changes hands several times before ultimately being abandoned. While local Bedouins kept passing through the ancient ruins, Westerns only came to know of it again in the 19th century, earning it the nickname of ‘The Lost City’. It was named a World Heritage Site in 1985. With the Jordan Pass you can visit Petra for free.
Wadi Rum Protected Area: The Valley of the Moon
In the deep south of Jordan close to the Saudi-Arabian border, the Wadi Rum Protected Area stands as another UNESCO World Heritage Site in Jordan you simple HAVE to visit. Far from being just a desert, the Wadi Rum Protected Area combines stunning desert landscape with 12,000+ years of human settlement.
If you have never read about Wadi Rum before, but feel like it is familiar, it might be because you have actually seen it before without knowing. That is because to Hollywood the Wadi Rum Desert is not just a desert, but a film set and therefore features in movies such as The Martian, Dune and even Star Wars.
Thanks to its pop-cultural significance, the Wadi Rum Desert has started to attract more and more travellers that want to stay in bubble tents and experience the Martian-like landscape that has featured in so many sci-fi blockbusters.
The landscape’s resemblance of Mars or the moon is not its only claim to fame though. The Wadi Rum Protected Area has been inhabited for over 12,000 years, in fact. More than 150 archaeological sites in the desert show human settlement there as early as prehistoric times.
Today, you can get lost between ancient rock-art, imposing mountains and breathtaking landscapes for days, as you come to know the Wadi Rum Desert through the eyes of the local Bedouins.
Quseir Amra: An Early Islamic Desert Castle
The Wadi Rum Desert is not the only ancient site in Jordan that holds immense historical significance while being tucked away far away in the desert. Quseir Amra is an 8th-century desert castle located in Eastern Jordan about 1.5 hours away from the capital city of Amman.
Originally, Quseir Amra was built as a Muslim stronghold against the Christians crusaders. In reality though, it was mostly used as an Umayyad palace featuring the oldest surviving Hammam of the Muslim world. The castle is not recorded to have been involved in any major battles.
Considering that there are many more castles in Jordan, such as Ajloun Castle or Shobak Castle, that are not only larger but also more battle-proven, one might ask: How is it that Quseir Amra was names a UNSECO World Heritage Site?
Besides featuring the oldest surviving example of a Hammam, it is adorned for its incredibly well-preserved frescoes depicting rulers, feast and heaven, reflecting the Byzantine and Early Islamic art of the time.
Umm Al-Jimal: Jordan’s Newest UNESCO World Heritage Site
As the World Heritage Committee keeps evaluating sites for its acclaimed world heritage list, it has also added another Jordanian site to the mix. In 2023, Umm Al-Jiimal became the latest addition to the Jordanian World Heritage List, bumping it up to seven overall sites.
Located in Northern Jordan close to the Syrian border, Umm Al-Jimal first came into existence as a suburb of the Nabataean capital city of Bostra (not to be confused with Basra, Iraq). Under Roman rule, Umm Al -Jimal flourished as a Roman military camp, before declining in importance once the Romans left.
As per usual with ancient Jordanian sites, Umm Al-Jimal changed hands from the Roman to the Byzantine Empire, then came under Umayyad influence, before being completely abandoned in the 8th century AD after an earthquake.
Today, this rather unimportant ancient town in the Jordan-Syrian border region is considered one of the best examples of agricultural life in the Hauran region, the desert between Jordan and Syria, teaching us about the region’s history, religious beliefs and the agricultural practices of the Hauran people.
Bethany Beyond the Jordan: Jesus’ Baptism Site
What better site to call a UNESCO World Heritage Site than the very place where John the Baptist baptised Jesus? This must have gone through the minds of the World Heritage Committee when naming Bethany Beyond the Jordan a World Heritage Site in 2015.
Bethany Beyond the Jordan, or Al-Maghtas, as it is locally known, is located right on the east bank of the Jordan River. It features the remains of a monastery on a nearby mount as well as the remains of churches, pilgrim dwellings and baptism ponds on the east bank of the river.
The structures around the Baptism Site ‘Bethany Beyond the Jordan’ were rebuilt several times, abandoned and ultimately rediscovered in the 1990s. After extensive conservation and restoration, Bethany Beyond the Jordan finally opened to the public again, receiving Christian pilgrims once again.
Today, you can visit the Baptism site as part of your visit to the Jordanian Site of the Dead Sea and experience the very place Jesus was baptised at. For Jordan Pass holders, there is a discounted entrance fee of 8 JODs per person, instead of the regular 12 JODs per person.
Where to Stay at Jordan’s World Heritage Sites
Between exploring Roman ruins of Jordan’s north, wandering the rose-red city of Petra in Jordan’s center and venturing into the Wadi Rum Desert in the Jordan’s south, the World Heritage List will take your all around Jordan, so you better come prepared with some comfortable stays along the way.
This is where to stay at each of the 5 best World Heritage Sites in Jordan:
Petra | Mövenpick Resort Petra | starting from $ 124 per night | |
Wadi Rum Protected Area | Memories Aicha Luxury Camp | starting from $ 226 per night | |
Quseir Amra | InterContinental Amman | starting from $ 148 per night | |
Umm Al-Jimal | Pretal Hotel | starting from $ 78 per night | |
Bethany Beyond the Jordan | Mövenpick Resort & Spa | starting from $ 140 per night |
The Bottom Line
With seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites on the World Heritage List and many more entries waiting on the tentative list, Jordan undoubtedly has lots of cultural and natural heritage to offer. Make sure to incorporate at least two or three of these sites into your Jordan itinerary to get to know Jordan’s history like you can nowhere else.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many UNESCO world heritage sites does Jordan have?
Currently, there are seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Jordan. They are Petra, Quseir Amra, Um Er-Rasas, the Wadi Rum Protected Area, the Baptism Site ‘Bethany Beyond the Jordan’, As-Salt and Umm Al-Jimal.
What 7 wonders of the world are in Jordan?
Of the seven wonders of the world, the Lost City of Petra is located in Jordan. The Petra Archaeological Site hosts the ancient ruins of the city of Petra, which was cut into the pink sandstone of Wadi Araba. What once served as a major trading hub now impresses with its stone architecture such as the Treasury.
What is the UNESCO city in Jordan?
When talking about the UNESCO city in Jordan, people usually refer to the rose-red city of Petra, an ancient Nabataean city carved into the soft sandstone cliffs of Wadi Araba. Another UNESCO city in Jordan in Jordan could be As-Salt.
What is the newest addition to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Jordan?
In 2023, Jordan got its newest addition to the World Heritage List: Umm Al-Jimal. Located just a few kilometres from the Syrian border, Umm Al-Jimal once served a Roman military camp. It draws its importance from it the insight it provides into the region’s history, religion and agricultural practices.
