Just 40 minutes from Amman by car, the Dead Sea and its resort hotels offer a relaxing getaway from the bustle of the city. The lowest point on earth, the Dead Sea is renowned for its healing properties. The chance to float on its unique salt waters should not be missed.

The resort hotels, including the Marriott, the Kempinski, the Movenpick and the Dead Sea Spa, are delightfully luxurious places sure to speed along your recovery process should you choose to relax there for a day, a weekend, or longer.

Further afield, Jordan boasts a wide variety of truly unmissable sites including

• Petra, the majestic rose-red city carved into the mountains by the ancient Nabateans (scenes from the Indiana Jones trilogy were filmed here).
• One of the most well preserved ancient Roman cities in the world at Jerash, north of Amman.
• Wadi Rum, an extraordinary desert landscape much admired by Lawrence of Arabia, among others. Sunsets in Wadi Rum, with its mountains illuminated pink and red, are spectacular.
• Nature reserves founded by the Royal Society for the Preservation of Nature, including Dana Nature Reserve (at the northern end of the Great Rift Valley), Dibbeen Reserve, and the Azraq Wetland Reserve.
• A variety of Crusader-era castles, including remarkable castles at Ajloun, set among pine forests north of Amman, and at Karak, to the south.

For detailed information on all of Jordan’s sites, visit the Jordan Tourism Board’s excellent website.