The Soap House Trail through Ajloun Forest Reserve, walked properly rather than marched. Around 8 km of evergreen oak, wild pistachio and the red peeling bark of the strawberry tree, with a long stop at the viewpoint over the Rasoun valley and, on a clear day, the hills of the West Bank beyond. Our guide grew up cutting wood on this ridge before it was a reserve, which changes what you notice: the Persian squirrel drays, the pistachio grafts, which oaks the roe deer strip. Lunch is a village mezze in a shaded clearing - labneh, zaatar, tomatoes, bread baked that morning. Honest bits: this is an RSCN reserve, so the entry fee is fixed and non-negotiable, and the trail is only open in daylight with a licensed guide. The middle section climbs about 250 metres on loose limestone and there is no shade for twenty minutes of it. From June to September we start at 7am to beat the heat, which means a genuinely early pickup. Boots, not trainers.
We are four families from Orjan and Rasoun, on the western slopes below Ajloun Castle. Between us we know which oak holds the best shade in August, which co-operative kitchen bakes on which morning, and roughly where the wild boar cross at dusk. We work with the reserve rangers, not around them, and we book the women's soap house and biscuit house directly so the money stays in the village. Our walks are unhurried and our groups are small. We are not a coach company and we do not do sunset-photo stops. If you want northern Jordan at walking pace, in oak and strawberry-tree woodland that most visitors drive straight past, come north.
View all experiences by this host →Starting from
Coming soon
This experience isn’t taking bookings yet. Tap the heart to save it for later.