The King's Highway is the old road down the spine of Jordan, and on a motorcycle it is one of the most rewarding slow roads in the Middle East. Modern Highway 35 follows it from the north down to Ma'an, and the section riders come for runs from Madaba to Petra — about 220 km (137 miles) that takes four hours without stopping and realistically a full day, because the road keeps dropping into wadis and climbing back out. The Desert Highway covers the same ground in roughly three hours and shows you nothing.
What the road actually is
The King's Highway is a trade route of genuine antiquity — it ran from Egypt across Sinai to Aqaba and then north through Transjordan to Damascus and the Euphrates, and after the 7th century it served as the darb al-hajj, the pilgrimage road for Muslims travelling from Syria and Iraq towards Mecca. The Romans rebuilt it as the Via Nova Traiana under Trajan. In modern Jordan the line survives as segments of Highway 35, Highway 15 and the Aqaba Highway, running from Irbid in the north to Aqaba in the south, and the southern part crosses several deep wadis, which makes it highly scenic, curvy and slow.
That last phrase is the whole riding brief. This is not a road you make time on. It is two lanes through farmland and hill villages, punctuated by speed bumps that appear without much warning, and interrupted by gorge crossings that swap 300 m of altitude for twenty minutes of switchbacks. Riders who plan it like a transit stage arrive frustrated. Riders who plan it as the day itself, with a stop at Kerak and a night at Dana, get one of the best days on the bike in the region.
Route at a glance
| Road | Highway 35, the King's Highway, Irbid to Ma'an |
| Touring section | Madaba to Petra, about 220 km (137 miles) |
| Riding time | About 4 hours without stops, a full day with them |
| Alternative | Desert Highway (Highway 15), around 235 km (146 miles) and roughly an hour quicker |
| Main event | The Wadi Mujib crossing, a gorge whose river reaches the Dead Sea at about 420 m (1,380 ft) below sea level |
| Kerak | Hilltop town at about 1,000 m (3,300 ft), 140 km (87 miles) south of Amman |
| Best months | March to May and September to November, as of August 2026 |
Open the Madaba to Petra run in Google Maps and send it to your navigation, then check that the route it picks is Highway 35 and not the Desert Highway.
Madaba to the Mujib rim
Madaba is the sensible start. It is close enough to Amman to reach early, it has the mosaic map in the church of St George if you want a reason to stop before you have ridden anywhere, and the road south out of town gets rural within minutes. The first hour runs across the Moabite plateau through wheat fields and small towns, with the Dead Sea rift dropping away out of sight to your right. Distances here are deceptive — the run to the hilltop fortress at Machaerus is barely 30 km (19 miles) and takes well over an hour with stops, which sets the pace for the whole day.
Then the ground opens. Wadi Mujib is a river gorge draining a basin of 6,571 km² (2,537 sq mi), and it cuts through the plateau deeply enough that the modern road has to descend one wall and climb the other. The Mujib Dam was completed in 2004 at the bottom, where the road crosses the river, and the reservoir behind it now sits in the base of the canyon. The Mujib Biosphere Reserve, created in 1987 by the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature and declared a UNESCO biosphere reserve in 2011, covers 212 km² (82 sq mi) of the western gorge and ranges from Dead Sea level up to 1,277 m (4,190 ft) on the surrounding mountains.
The Mujib crossing itself
Northbound or southbound, this is the piece of road people remember. There is a viewpoint on the rim where everyone stops, and from there the tarmac drops in a long series of switchbacks with the gorge walls closing in on both sides. The corners are open rather than technical, the surface is generally decent, and the traffic is light outside the tourist coach windows in the middle of the day. The hazards are the ones you would expect: gravel washed onto the apex after rain, occasional livestock, and the temperature rise as you lose altitude, which is significant enough to notice through the jacket.
Two practical notes. The gorge has no fuel and no shade, so it is a poor place to discover you are low on either. And the Mujib Reserve's canyoning trails are seasonal and permit-controlled; they are not part of the ride, but if you plan to combine them with the road day, book ahead rather than turning up.
Kerak, Dana and the run into Petra
Al-Karak sits 140 km (87 miles) south of Amman on a triangular plateau about 1,000 m (3,300 ft) above sea level, with the Crusader castle at its narrow southern tip and a view towards the Dead Sea. The town has been inhabited since the Iron Age, was a Moabite stronghold, and later fell inside the Crusader lordship of Oultrejourdain. It is the natural lunch and fuel stop, and parking a bike near the castle gate is straightforward.
South of Kerak the landscape gets drier and emptier and the road quietens further. Dana is the stop worth building the day around: Jordan's largest nature reserve at 308 km² (119 sq mi), founded in 1989, dropping from 1,500 m (4,900 ft) on the Qadisiyah plateau down into the desert of Wadi Araba, and crossing four biogeographical zones — the only reserve in Jordan that does. The village hangs on the edge of the escarpment and the guesthouses there look straight down the wadi. If you only stop once between Madaba and Petra, stop here.
From Dana it is a short run past Shobak castle and down into Wadi Musa, the town at the gates of Petra. The last section climbs and drops through bare hills and is genuinely good riding, but it is also where riders who left late end up racing the light. Do not. Arrive with the sun still up.
Paperwork, fuel and conditions
Visas and the Jordan Pass. Most visitors arriving by air buy the Jordan Pass before travelling, which waives the tourist visa fee and bundles entry to Petra, Jerash, Wadi Rum and dozens of other sites, provided you stay at least two whole nights in the country. It does not waive the visa fee at land borders arriving from Israel, and Wadi Mujib's reserve trails are not included. Buy it before you arrive, not after — the waiver only works that way round. Check the official Jordan Pass site for the current terms rather than a blog.
Vehicle documents. If you are riding your own bike, Jordan is a country where the carnet question comes up, and the answer depends on where the bike is registered and how it entered the region. Confirm the current customs procedure with Jordanian customs before you ship or ride in, and read our carnet de passage guide for what the document does and does not cover. Carry your registration, licence, an International Driving Permit and proof of insurance valid in Jordan; local third-party cover is normally bought at the border.
Fuel. Fuel is easy in the towns along Highway 35 — Madaba, Kerak, Tafilah, Shobak, Wadi Musa — and absent in the gorges between them. The realistic gap you need to plan for is 60–80 km (37–50 miles) between reliable stations on the quiet middle section, which is nothing for most bikes but matters if you have been running on fumes since Amman. Fill at Kerak as a default.
Climate. Jordan's highlands are cold in winter and the plateau gets snow most years, while the rift below is baking. In high summer the Dead Sea shore and Wadi Araba routinely sit well above 40 °C (104 °F) and riding down there in the middle of the day is genuinely unpleasant. Spring and autumn are the touring windows. Wind on the plateau is a constant, and dust haze can cut visibility on the open sections.
On the road. Jordanian driving is assertive but not aggressive, speed bumps in villages are frequent and often unmarked, and police checkpoints on the King's Highway are routine and polite. Slow down, hand over your documents, and expect to be waved on.
Gear notes for a King's Highway day
The two things that make this ride easier are unglamorous. First, navigation: mapping apps default to the Desert Highway because it is faster, and the King's Highway has enough unsignposted junctions that you want the route loaded rather than improvised. Setting up GPS navigation properly before you go saves an argument at every fork. Second, tyre pressures: you will lose and regain hundreds of metres of altitude repeatedly, with big temperature swings between the plateau and the wadi floors, and pressure moves with both. A TPMS sensor means you are reading the number rather than guessing at a petrol station. If you are chaining this into a longer regional trip, our notes on tour seasons by region will keep you out of the worst of the summer, and the MT100 bi-directional charger handles the nights in Dana guesthouses where the socket situation is optimistic.
FAQ
How long does the King's Highway take from Madaba to Petra?
About 220 km (137 miles) and roughly four hours of pure riding, but nobody rides it that way. With Wadi Mujib, Kerak and Dana it is a comfortable full day, and splitting it with a night at Dana is the version most riders recommend.
Is the King's Highway better than the Desert Highway?
For riding, yes, by a wide margin. The Desert Highway covers Amman to Petra in around 235 km (146 miles) and roughly an hour less, on a straight, fast, dull road. The King's Highway is slower, curvier and goes through everything worth seeing.
How deep is the Wadi Mujib crossing?
Deep enough that the road descends one wall and climbs the other. The river reaches the Dead Sea at about 420 m (1,380 ft) below sea level, and the surrounding reserve rises to 1,277 m (4,190 ft), so the gorge represents well over a kilometre of relief across its drainage.
Do I need the Jordan Pass?
If you are flying in and staying at least two whole nights, it usually pays for itself because it waives the tourist visa fee and includes Petra. It does not apply at land borders from Israel, and it does not cover the Wadi Mujib reserve trails. Buy it before arrival.
When is the best time to ride the King's Highway?
Spring and autumn. The plateau gets snow in winter and the rift valley below is extremely hot in summer, so March to May and September to November give the most comfortable riding. Check conditions before you set out, as of August 2026.
