Ajloun

Ajloun Castle

Lying around 70km north of Amman and a beautiful pine forest away from Jerash, you will find the town of Ajloun. The main attraction for Ajloun is Ajloun castle bringing you magnificent scenery across the Jordan valley from the viewing point within the castle. Some mistake it for a crusaders fort but in actual fact the castle was built by Muslims 1184-1185 with its purpose being a military fort. Another purpose of it was also to be a ‘base camp’ for using and developing the mines in Ajloun. The perfect image of Arab and Islamic architecture is shown in the body of the castle with it being built as a rectangle containing four square towers and a south facing entrance, ensuring easy access to the north Jordan valley. The castle lit beams at night to protect the communication routes between Jordan and Syria, some of which would reach as far as Cairo. 2 years after the castle had been built it changed purpose until around the mid to late 13^th century when it changed to being used as an administrative centre accountable to Damascus. There has been crossed found carved into the stone which gives evidence to a Christian once inhabiting the castle named Ajloun which gives it the name it and the town hold today. Visiting the castle is a very awe-inspiring experience along the outstanding scenery. You will also find that it has been very carefully preserved up to this very day which makes it so worthwhile to visit.

Ajloun Reserve

Thought to be one of the most stunning natural reserves in Jordan is the Ajloun Reserve. It is laid out neatly over the remote hilltops 9km north of Ajloun and around 85km North of Amman. When visiting the reserve, you will experience some of the most beautiful countryside you didn’t even imagine existing. It is a 1200m above sea level with a noticeable coolness in the air when ascending from the hot and humid feel of Jerash nearby, which sometimes nice especially in the summer when it can get near unbearable. There is about 13km square of Mediterranean woodland home to many species of animal, bird and trees. As well as the common ones you will find some rare species living here however they would be very hard to spot. The vast amount of biodiversity here is just incredible to think about. A new addition to the forest is the Roe Deer which was previously extinct in the wild although now reintroduced into its natural habitat. Visiting the reserve can be just for a day or you can stay one or two nights if you feel as though you would like to explore a little more. Tourism has developed so widely here in recent years with the RSCN’s Wild Jordan ecotourism unit organising walks and tours of the forest itself as well as the surrounding area. You can do these walks from the visitors centre which do not have to be guided and can be self-guided. I would recommend the Roe Deer Trail though which is a short circuit through the forest to a beautiful hilltop and back, especially nice in the spring.