KERAK (الكرك)

After so many troubles with narrow, steep roads in Jordan, we were unsure where to stop to visit Kerak castle, so we parked on the crossing next to the abandoned amusement park and took the local van to the castle (2 JOD). It was a good parking spot; even traffic police opened a checkpoint for the night behind the truck and said we could park there. At 23:00, a few other cars with five tourism police officers arrived and escorted us to park on the hill next to the castle. So let’s see how we get out from here tomorrow morning 😓.

The Crusader stronghold, and later the Mamluk fortress, sits 900m above sea level inside the old city’s walls. Kerak Castle is a dark maze of stone-vaulted halls and endless passageways. Reconstruction and excavation work are still ongoing at the site. There are good views of Wadi Karak, and the site is said to be that of the condemned cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.

In the evening, we took a walk through the city and had a nice dinner at Mountain View Restaurant (Grilled chicken with french fries – 6,50 JOD, Shish Tavouk – 7,50 JOD, delicious Lemon-mint juice – 2,50 JOD, Water – 1,5 l / 2 JOD).

Parking location – Kerak: 31.181983N 35.701880E (🚻)