When you leave the rolling hills of Moab behind, the road plunges down into the Wadi Mujib.
The canyon is mentioned in the Bible as the Arnon river (Numbers 2126-31, Isaiah 151-9).

The Mujib canyon is sometimes called the Grand Canyon of the Middle East, and with reason.

It spans an elevation drop of 1,300 meters, from 900 meters above sea level to 400 meters below. The vast and barren landscape of Wadi Mujib is an unforgettable experience.

Located on the eastern shore of the Dead Sea the Mujib Reserve measures about 220 square kilometers. The habitat consists mainly of rugged, arid mountains and flowing rivers. The canyon cuts deeply through the sandstone mountains. Because of the dramatic change in altitude and the presence of several flowing rivers, it has many different habitats, supporting a wide variety of plants and animals.

The reserve originally was founded to protect the Nubian ibex, a large mountain goat which became threatened as a result of over-hunting. Mujib is also well known for large carnivores like the regionally scarce striped hyena and Syrian wolf, and for many kinds of birds. Among the important birds are the lesser kestrel, imperial eagle, Bonelli's eagle and griffon vulture. The reserve also provides a safe stop-over for migrating birds which fly annually along the Rift Valley between Africa and northeast Europe.