Dana is Jordan's largest nature reserve, covering some 320 square kilometers of spectacular mountains and wadis along the face of the Great Rift Valley. From scorching sand dunes in the west to cool mountain tops in the east, the Dana Biosphere Reserve is home to a great variety of wildlife.
Dana is Jordan's largest nature reserve, covering some 320 square kilometers of spectacular mountains and wadis along the face of the Great Rift Valley. From scorching sand dunes in the west to cool mountain tops in the east, the Dana Biosphere Reserve is home to a great variety of wildlife. There are plants and animals characteristic of true desert, of Mediterranean forests and of the dry plains of Russia.
Dana is Jordan's largest nature reserve, covering some 320 square kilometers of spectacular mountains and wadis along the face of the Great Rift Valley. From scorching sand dunes in the west to cool mountain tops in the east, the Dana Biosphere Reserve is home to a great variety of wildlife. There are plants and animals characteristic of true desert, of Mediterranean forests and of the dry plains of Russia. In fact, Dana is really a melting pot of species from three continents: Europe, Africa and Asia.
Dana is Jordan's largest nature reserve, covering some 320 square kilometers of spectacular mountains and wadis along the face of the Great Rift Valley. From scorching sand dunes in the west to cool mountain tops in the east, the Dana Biosphere Reserve is home to a great variety of wildlife. There are plants and animals characteristic of true desert, of Mediterranean forests and of the dry plains of Russia. In fact, Dana is really a melting pot of species from three continents: Europe, Africa and Asia. Such a combination of natural communities in a single area is unique in Jordan and many of Dana's animals and plants are very rare. So far, a total of 700 plant species, 190 bird species, 37 mammal species and 36 reptile species have been recorded in the Reserve, of which 25 are known to be endangered, including the Sand Cat, the Syrian Wolf, the Lesser Kestrel and the Spiny Tailed Lizard. Without special care, some of these could disappear from the Earth forever, which makes the Dana Nature Reserve a place of global importance.
Dana Nature Reserve is relatively close to Petra. When on a Jordan vacation it might be a good idea to plan to visit Dana first before your Petra tour if traveling Jordan from north to south.
The Dana Village area, overlooking the scenic Wadi Dana, has been occupied since about 4000 BC. Archaeological evidence indicates that Palaeolithic, Egyptian, Nabatean, and Roman civilisations have been drawn to the area by the fertile soil, water springs, and strategic location. Today, Dana Village is inhabited mostly by clans of the "Al Ata'ata" tribe, which settled in the area during the Ottoman period, about four hundred years ago, and built the present village. Over the years, many of the families in Dana Village have moved to the nearby village of Qadissiya, in search of better jobs, schools, and housing. The crumbling Dana Village was nearly abandoned, but thanks to the fund-raising efforts of the Friends of Dana, a dynamic women's group in Amman, over 70 of the traditional stone housed have been restored, enabling some families to remain in the village.
