Wadi Feynan

Wadi Feynan lies at the bottom of the Dana Biosphere Reserve where the mountains give out into the Wadi Araba, and copper was mined and smelted here from the Chalcolithic period into Roman and Byzantine times, leaving slag heaps, mine galleries and the remains of settlements across the valley. A lodge run on solar power with no mains electricity operates there, and Bedouin families still herd through the area.

What you actually see

• The slag heaps - the residue of six thousand years of copper smelting.
• The mine galleries - the workings cut into the rock through the valley.
• The Roman remains - the settlement and industry of the imperial period.
• The ecolodge - the solar-powered accommodation with no mains electricity.

When to go

October to April is the comfortable season; summer in the Araba is extremely hot. The walk down from Dana takes a full day. Access from the Araba road is by four-wheel drive.

Honest expectations

Summer heat in the Wadi Araba is dangerous. The lodge is the only accommodation and books out. Archaeological remains are unfenced and uninterpreted on the ground.

Nearby

Dana Biosphere Reserve is above, and the Wadi Araba runs south.