Three days on the east side of the Jordan: the baptism site at Bethany beyond the Jordan, Mount Nebo and the mosaics of Madaba, the King's Highway south to Machaerus, then north through Gilead to the Decapolis cities of Gerasa and Gadara. Pilgrims usually travel by car or coach and stay in Madaba or Amman.
Day 1 · The baptism site, Nebo and Madaba
- Al-Maghtas: Bethany beyond the JordanJohn 1:28Excavated Byzantine churches, pools and hermits' caves along the Kharrar stream, a path to the river, and new churches of several denominations.
- Mount NeboDeut 34:1–5The Franciscan Memorial of Moses, reopened in 2016 over the old church and its 6th-century mosaics; from the terrace, the Jordan valley and the Dead Sea.≈ 18 km from the stop before
- Khirbet al-Mukhayyat, the town of NeboNum 32:37–38Ruins on a hill near Mount Nebo, held by many to be the biblical town; its small Byzantine churches keep 6th-century mosaics of grape harvest and fishing.≈ 1 km from the stop before
- Madaba: the mosaic mapNum 21:30In the floor of St George's church, a 6th-century mosaic map from the Jordan to the Nile, with Jerusalem's streets and the Holy Sepulchre; rediscovered in 1884.≈ 9 km from the stop before
Day 2 · South along the King's Highway
- Dhiban, biblical Dibon2 Kgs 3:4–5A town beside the excavated mound where Mesha's own inscription, a basalt stone of c. 840 BC telling of his war with Israel, was found in 1868.≈ 24 km from the stop before
- Wadi Mujib, the ArnonNum 21:13A deep canyon crossed by the King's Highway on its way south; where it reaches the Dead Sea it is a nature reserve with a gorge walk.≈ 20 km from the stop before
- MachaerusMark 6:17–28A steep hill above the Dead Sea with the ruins of Herod's fortress-palace; a few columns of its courtyard have been set up again.≈ 13 km from the stop before
Day 3 · Gilead and the Decapolis
- Penuel on the JabbokGen 32:22–31Two hills with scattered ruins above the green valley of the Zarqa; there is no church or shrine, only the river and the view.≈ 69 km from the stop before
- Tell Mar Elias1 Kgs 17:1On a hilltop in the wooded hills near Ajloun, the ruins of a large Byzantine church with mosaic floors.≈ 20 km from the stop before
- Jerash, ancient GerasaMark 5:1–2One of the best-kept Roman cities of the Decapolis: an oval plaza, a colonnaded street, theatres and Byzantine churches with mosaic floors.≈ 19 km from the stop before
- Umm Qais, ancient GadaraMatt 8:28–32Black basalt ruins of the Decapolis city on a ridge, with a theatre and a church terrace looking over the Sea of Galilee and the Yarmuk gorge.≈ 47 km from the stop before
Before you travel, check your country’s travel advice. Opening hours and the rules of the sites change — see their official pages.
Land outlines: Natural Earth (public domain).