Our next destination was the Dana Moon Hotel in the Dana Biosphere.
On the way we stopped at Shobak Castle, also called Montreal. Unlike Kerak, Shobak is isolated. To the extent that you may start wondering if you’re lost as you make your way through tiny town after tiny town. At the end you must maneuver up a narrow switchback and simply hope that an oncoming car will not come barreling around a blind corner.
For this you will be rewarded with the crumbled remains of a massive and once magnificent edifice. Shobak Castle, like all of the Crusader Castles, is set high upon a mountain. It was built in 1115 under the rule of King Baldwin I. Later Shobak, like Kerak to the north, came under the control of the notorious Raynald of Châtillon.
Its remote location gives the castle an almost other worldly feel.
You can explore the ruins which include the remains of two churches, a watchtower, and some catacombs. Along the way you may spot some Christian carvings and Islamic tablets. If you have time perhaps you will even discover a secret passageway that leads to a spring.
LB, SM, and I explored the ruins while hunting for the dragon’s horde. Like all of the other sites in Jordan the most you get in safety are signs that say DANGER, Enter at Your Own Risk! That said it was fairly easy to walk around though there were a few places we demanded LB hold the hand of an adult. There is also a little room tucked away where kids, and adults, can dress in the costumes of yore. We never did find that secret passageway, though!
Note, there is a little cafe with snacks, cold drinks, and ice cream, but it’s a good idea to bring a lunch. There is also a clean public bathroom. The people here, like everywhere in Jordan, are extremely friendly and will be drawn to your children. We had lovely, if limited, conversations with several of the folks who work on site. The entrance fee is 1JD and is included with the Jordan pass.
Then we headed on to the Dana Biosphere. Before I say anything else about it I should warn you that here there be mosquitoes. The little buggers only need a teaspoon of water to breed and here they have lovely natural springs. The hotel had those helpful plugins but you really need mosquito repellent. Repel makes a good non-deet one, but there are several available now. The mosquitoes seem to be night, and perhaps dawn, biting as they didn’t bother us at all during our evening meal eaten outdoors.
The town now has several restaurants and hotels by which I mean more than two. The Dana Moon Hotel is one of the newer hotels, which is not to say it’s a new construction.
The good.
It’s a traditionally built building with clean rooms and clean, shared, bathrooms. There are several trailheads nearby. Food is provided by the restaurant next door. Dinner is made to order so do so in advance. It is served on the restaurant rooftop. The views are excellent. I had the meat dish and SM had the chicken. There is also a vegetarian option. We shared and LB actually ate more than bread, which says something in of itself.
The bad
We shared our meal with a handful of feral cats made quite desperate by the smell of the food.
It is amazing and unique. True confession: I have a problem with heights. It started when I hit about thirty and got worse with my occasional bouts of vertigo. These happen on perfectly flat land so when on land at a slant can be doubly disconcerting. This anxiety is especially acute when on a gravelly or unsteady path, at a slant, with a sharp drop off.
There are several paths here that meet that criteria. But there are many that do not. We took the path past the spring that starts behind the mosque. It starts out trashy as hell as you go through the most worn part of the path. As it becomes less well trodden it becomes that much more beautiful. LB was able to handle it with few issues though we did carry her part of the time. We were able to take a short, hour long, hike but I wish we’d gotten up earlier and taken more time.
If yours is a family of hikers definitely take at least two nights here to get a full day in. It’s worth it.