Visiting Jerash set you back in time to when the Romans and Greeks were around. An amazing colonnaded street worthy of Rome, a couple of ancient amphitheatres and even a hippodrome. The whole site has been beautifully preserved over time to become one of the landmark representing the lovely country of Jordan.
What is Jerash?
Nowadays, people refer to the archaeological site as “old Jerash” (aka Gerasa) whereas the new city built around it is mostly referred to as “modern Jerash”. As much as the city itself can be interesting to visit, the real deal here is the archaeological site. The site extends over a pretty huge surface and is meant to house what is known as one of the best preserved Greco-Roman cities in the world.
Since its discovery in 1920s, the site has continuously being worked on and still follows that route at the current time. In fact, still today, there are certain sections of the site which are still being excavated or rebuilt to their original beauty.
Opening Times, Fees and Visit Length
The archaeological site opens from 8am to 5pm (winter season) and from 8am to 6pm (summer season). Nevertheless, in certain cases or special events such as the Jerash Festival, the site opening times might be extended till night.
The entrance fee to Jerash is included if you are a Jordan Pass holder. Nevertheless if you’re not, the price for an adult is 12 JOD. Whether or not you have the Jordan Pass, the entrance to the archaeological site also includes the fee for the Jerash Archaeological Museum.
Visiting the site usually takes anywhere between 1h30min to 3hrs depending on your own pace and stops you make along the main trail. Also be aware that during summer, the hottest hours from 11am to 2pm are to avoid. Remember that there’s very little shadow on-site, so either go there carefully prepared for the summer sun (water, sunscreen, sunglasses) or be ready to get roasted.
How to get to Jerash from Amman?
There are three different ways to get to Jerash, some are cheaper whilst other more comfortable.
Local Bus (1 JOD) – From the Northern Terminal in Amman, there are local buses operating this route on a daily basis. Starting from early morning 7am up until early afternoon 1-2pm there are several going. More or less it takes around 1h15min to get to Jerash from the terminal. Once in Jerash, you can ask the driver to hop down next to the site (pretty obvious) or just wait to be dropped off at the terminal just after the site.
Official Taxi (40 JOD) – It is possible to take a cab to Jerash. Essentially a full-day tour involving the transport to/from Jerash/Amman together with a 2-3h wait for the visit. Keep in mind that not all taxi drivers are willing to do so. The drive to Jerash takes a little under 1h.
Shared Cars (1 JOD) – Mostly for locals, this means of transport is great if you really wanna experience a tourist-free cultural adventure. It’s hard to spot these seemingly normal cars and even harder to find where they stop, unless you ask to locals. The drive will take slightly over an hour but shared cars tend to run Jerash-Amman route often even at night.
If you like it, pin it!
PLANNING A TRIP TO JORDAN? CHECK MORE POSTS BELOW!
[pt_view id=”63283c74cy”]