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Jordan Tourism Guide |
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Natural Sites |
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 Ajloun
Reserve |
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Ajloun Reserve was first established in 1988 and
is located in the Ajloun Highlands in northern
Jordan, around the village of Umm al-Yanabi'
north of Ajloun. It is a area of rolling hills
covered by dense woodlands of evergreen oak,
interspersed with pistachio, carob, and wild
strawberry trees. The trees have been important
to local people for their wood, scenic beauty,
and quite often for medicine and food. These
woodlands are like the original forest animals,
including herds of wild boar.
A captive-breeding programme for the locally
extinct roe deer was initiated and an enclosure
has been built on site, so they can be released
into the forest in the near future. The roe deer
is adapted to local forest habitat, and feeds on
a variety of trees, shrubs and grasses. The rich
Mediterranean-like forests that covered the
Ajloun area provided an ideal habitat for
millennia. However, deforestation and
desertification over the past 200 years led to
the decline in numbers of the roe deer. Three
roe deer were introduced to the captive breeding
enclosure in Ajloun in 1988, from a similar
habitat in Turkey. Today, there are sixteen roe
deer at Ajloun. The Persian Fallow Deer is
another species that was once common in Jordan.
This animal probably became extinct by the
beginning of the 20th century and its
re-introduction is now being pursued
Birdlife International declared the area an
Important Bird Area.
The reserve (13 square kms) is located in an
area named Eshtafeena. The reserve management
provided a special area for camping and has set
up two hiking trails and:
Easy trail
Scenic viewpoint trail: (2 km), taking 1-2
hours, leading from the campsite to the summit
of a nearby hill overlooking the reserve. The
area surrounding the trail is rich in
wildflowers in the springtime. It is an
excellent spot for a picnic. Not far from the
campsite an old stone wine press is found. The
return trip goes past the breeding enclosures of
the roe deer and back to the Visitors' Centre.
Moderate trail
Rockrose trail: (8 km), taking 4-5 hours,
passing across heavily wooded valley and ridges,
inside and outside the nature reserve. This
highly scenic trail passes through villages and
olive orchards and offers beautiful panoramic
views to the West Bank and Syria. There are
steep scrambles en-route that demand a
reasonable level of fitness.
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