Jordan
Petra carved into a rose-red canyon, the red sand and granite of Wadi Rum, the lowest point on earth at the Dead Sea and a Roman city at Jerash — Jordan fits more into a week than almost any country, and it is now a five-hour non-stop flight from Mumbai.
A small country
with a very long memory
Jordan is about the size of Chhattisgarh, and within that space it holds Petra — a city the Nabataeans cut into sandstone cliffs two thousand years ago and which UNESCO listed in 1985 — the desert of Wadi Rum, the Dead Sea shore roughly 430 metres below sea level, a Roman provincial city at Jerash with its colonnaded streets still standing, and a stretch of Red Sea coast at Aqaba. Nothing is far from anything else: Amman to Petra is about three hours by road, Petra to Wadi Rum under two, and the Dead Sea is an hour from the capital.
It has been a stable, welcoming country for a long time in a neighbourhood that has not always been either, and it takes visitors seriously. Petra opens at six in the morning, the Jordan Pass folds the visa fee and forty sites into one purchase, and the Bedouin camps of Wadi Rum have been hosting travellers for decades. English is widely spoken in tourism, and hospitality here is genuine rather than performed — you will be offered tea by people who have nothing to sell you.
For Indian travellers Jordan has become unusually easy. Royal Jordanian now flies non-stop from Mumbai to Amman in around five hours, with Delhi on its map as well, the time difference is two and a half hours, the food is built on chickpeas, aubergine, yoghurt, rice and flatbread so vegetarians eat well everywhere, and a visa on arrival is available for short tourist visits. A week covers the essentials; ten days does them justice.
When is your Jordan?
A Mediterranean climate in the north and hills, desert in the south and east, and the Dead Sea and Aqaba a good deal warmer than Amman in every month. Spring and autumn are the answer for most people.
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Jordan visa — what you need to know
Indian passport holders need a visa for Jordan, and for a short tourist visit there are two practical routes: a visa on arrival at the border, or an e-visa applied for in advance on the Jordanian Ministry of Interior's portal. The Jordan Pass, sold by Jordan's Ministry of Tourism, waives the visa fee if you buy it before you land and stay at least two nights.
The Indian embassy in Amman publishes the position for Indian passport holders in plain terms. First, an electronic visa applied for on the e-services portal of Jordan's Ministry of Interior before travel. Second, a visa on arrival at border crossings for short-term tourist purposes — with the embassy's own warning that the on-arrival process "in some cases may take 2-3 hrs to complete" and that Indian passengers should plan for it. Third, a visa from a Jordanian mission abroad, which the embassy describes as the route for employment or long-term assignments rather than for holidays. It also notes that immigration at Queen Alia airport, and the Jordanian ambassador in New Delhi, are authorised to check that arrivals are genuine visitors and not intending to work in Jordan — so travel with your return ticket and hotel bookings to hand.
The Jordan Pass is a ticket bundle from the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, not a visa. Its own site states that a single-entry visa without the pass costs 40 Jordanian dinars, and that the pass waives that fee if you purchase it before arriving in Jordan and stay a minimum of two consecutive nights — three days. It waives the single-entry fee only. The three tiers are 70, 75 and 80 dinars for one, two or three consecutive days at Petra, and all of them include entry to more than forty sites including Jerash and Wadi Rum. Show it printed at the visa office on arrival — the ministry warns that the QR code may not read from a phone — and keep it for every site gate. Petra by Night is not included; the Baptism Site is an add-on. Children under twelve enter the sites free with their parents.
The nationality lists that decide who is "non-restricted" for visa on arrival, together with the on-arrival conditions, the e-visa fee and the double- and multiple-entry fees, are published by Jordan's Ministry of Interior on moi.gov.jo. That site could not be reached when this page was written, so none of those figures or conditions is repeated here — the Indian embassy's confirmation that visa on arrival is available for short tourist visits is the basis for what is on this page. Check the ministry's page, or apply for the e-visa in advance, before you buy non-refundable tickets.
The Jordan Pass site states that the single-entry visa is valid for one month and can be extended at a police station for a fee. Visa on arrival is issued at Queen Alia airport in Amman and at the Sheikh Hussein Bridge; at the Wadi Araba crossing from Eilat it is issued only to Jordan Pass holders who are staying at least two nights. The same site says that restricted nationalities need a visa before travel from a Jordanian embassy. If you leave before two nights are up with a pass, the immigration system will send you to pay the fee on departure.
For all Jordan journeys we design, we prepare your complete visa documentation package — the forms, the supporting documents, the sequence of submission. Our visa specialists help travellers prepare complete applications with careful document guidance. Final visa decisions always remain with the relevant authorities.
Travel Jordan intelligently
Jordan is easy, safe by regional and most global standards, and short on distances. The things that improve a trip are timing, the pass, and a little cultural care.
Jordan travel FAQ
The questions Indian travellers ask most often before booking Jordan.
Jordan for every kind
of traveller
The country is compact enough that most itineraries touch all of it. These are the pieces, and roughly how long each one earns.
The Nabataean capital, cut into the cliffs of a hidden valley and reached through the Siq, a kilometre-long crack in the rock that ends at the Treasury. One day sees the highlights; two lets you climb to the Monastery and the High Place of Sacrifice.
A protected desert of red sand and sheer sandstone and granite mountains, explored by 4×4 with Bedouin guides and slept in at a camp under a sky with no light pollution at all.
The lowest point on land, around 430 metres below sea level, where the water is so salty that you float on your back reading a book. Resort hotels line the northern shore an hour from Amman.
The capital's Citadel and Roman Theatre, downtown falafel and kunafa, and Jerash to the north — a Roman city with an oval forum, colonnaded streets, theatres and Hadrian's Arch.
Jordan's only coast — a short strip of Red Sea with coral reefs close to shore, warm water most of the year and a relaxed resort town that makes the natural end to a southern route.
The slow road from Amman to Petra, through Madaba's Byzantine mosaics, Mount Nebo above the Dead Sea, the Crusader castle at Kerak and the Dana reserve — a full day that turns a transfer into the trip.
Tell us how many nights you have and what you want to see most, and our travel designers will order the route, choose the desert camp and arrange the driver.
How far in advance
should you book Jordan?
Jordan books more easily than most destinations — visa on arrival, a non-stop flight and short drives. The constraint is the good hotels in Petra and the better desert camps in spring and autumn.
The Mumbai non-stop runs a few days a week, so its schedule shapes the trip. Gulf one-stops are the alternative from every city.
Two nights in Wadi Musa and one or two in a desert camp are the scarce beds. Everything else has more capacity.
Once dates are fixed — it must be bought before arrival to waive the visa fee, and it is valid for three months from purchase.
Both are open to Indian passport holders for tourism. The e-visa avoids the on-arrival queue the Indian embassy warns about.
What to pack
for Jordan
Petra is a walking site on rock, Wadi Rum is a desert with cold nights, the Dead Sea ruins swimwear, and Amman asks for modesty. One bag can cover all four if it is packed with that in mind.
Bring an old swimsuit for the Dead Sea — the salt and mud are hard on fabric — and water shoes for the shore, which is sharp salt crystal, not sand.