Ajloun Reserve

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.

Getting there:

Ajloun is one and a half hours from Amman. From the Amman-Jarash Highway turn to the old Jarash road marked by a sign reading "Ajloun and Jarash". Turn from this road to the Ajloun road (marked by a road sign). Follow this road to Ajloun where you will find signs indicating the way to the reserve.

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