Budget travel | Jordan, the Hashemite kingdom, is a country of beauty and contrasts

Budget travel | Jordan, the Hashemite kingdom, is a country of beauty and contrasts

Petra, Jordan. (Photo: Kalpana Sunder)



Fertile valleys, remote deserts, rugged canyons, lost cities  wrapped in years and years of history — the Hashemite kingdom of Jordan is a country of beauty, contrasts and astonishing biodiversity. A progressive monarch and friendly people make this an even more alluring destination. The best part about visiting Jordan is that it’s a compact country and travel times are short.

Shops in Jerash, in northern Jordan. (Photo: Kalpana Sunder)

Despite being squeezed between hotspots of the world like Saudi Arabia and Israel, Jordan is one of the safest countries to visit. Besides the variety of sights there is to see in this fascinating country, the Middle Eastern allure of Jordan is what one remembers for a long time — markets straight out of the Arabian Nights packed with multi-hued handicrafts and sand art, the strong taste of Jordanian coffee, sheeshas or hookahs lined up in a row with apple-flavoured tobacco.

Economy return air fares from Mumbai to Amman start at around Rs 38,000 on Air Arabia.

Capital time

Start in Amman, the capital, spend two nights there.

Amman used to be Philadelphia, one of the cities of the Decapolis, or 10 cities from which Rome administered its Arabian