Dana Biosphere Reserve, Biosphere reserve in Tafilah, Jordan

Dana Biosphere Reserve is Jordan's largest nature reserve, founded in 1989 in and around Dana village and Wadi Dana in Tafilah Governorate. It covers 308 square kilometres, dropping from the Qadisiyah plateau at 1,500 metres to the low desert of Wadi Araba. Its geology includes limestone, sandstone and granite, with wind-cut sandstone cliffs in Wadi Dana.

Dana Biosphere Reserve was established in 1989 as Jordan's first biosphere reserve and its largest nature reserve, covering 308 square kilometres around Dana village and Wadi Dana. Archaeological finds show Palaeolithic, Egyptian, Nabataean and Roman settlement in the area, while the Ata'ta tribe has lived in Dana for about 400 years, with human settlement there dating back more than 6000 years.

The reserve incorporates four geographical regions, including Mediterranean woodlands, Irano-Turanian, Arabian desert, and Sudanian penetration zones, representing Jordan's natural heritage.

The 15-kilometer Dana Valley trail runs through the entire reserve and offers views of the different climate zones and habitats. Visitors interested in seeing wildlife should arrive early in the morning or late afternoon, when many of the over 200 bird species and mammals are active.

Dana holds the largest breeding colony of the Syrian serin, a finch that the sources list among the reserve's threatened natives alongside the Nubian ibex, caracal and lesser kestrel. Three of its plant species grow nowhere else on earth, and their Latin names carry the word Dana.