The Petra Region Authority continues to explore and develop unique tourist trails aimed at diversifying tourism products and enhancing adventure tourism. One of these trails passes through an archaeological site from the dinosaur era, making it a distinctive location with preserved dinosaur footprints embedded within the Naur Formation rocks from the Upper Cretaceous (Cenomanian) period, dating back 94 to 100 million years, according to an international research team from Jordan and Poland, led by Hendrik Klein and Gerard Gierliński, with the participation of Jordanian researchers, including Dr. Abdullah Abu Hamad, Habes Al-Mashaqqa, and Ikhlas Al-Hayyari.
اضافة اعلان
This marks the first scientific documentation of dinosaur trails in Jordan.
Dr. Fares Al-Brezat, Chairman of the Petra Region Authority, confirmed that this trail will provide a unique and valuable addition to the tourism product in the "Golden Triangle," which includes Petra, Wadi Rum, and Aqaba. This will enhance Jordan's position as a key adventure tourism destination on both regional and global levels, and support efforts to extend the length of visitors' stays in the area. The trail also targets new groups of local tourists, particularly younger people interested in dinosaurs.
Al-Brezat noted that once completed, this new trail will offer an unparalleled exploratory experience for visitors to Petra, while also contributing to the empowerment of local communities by providing new economic and development opportunities, in line with the Authority's strategy to promote sustainable development in the Petra District and its surroundings.
It is noteworthy that the discovered dinosaur footprints in the area are among the rarest finds in the Middle East. They are spread across ancient marine rock layers and feature tracks from three main groups of dinosaurs: theropods, sauropods, and ornithopods, giving the site both scientific and tourist significance.
Al-Brezat had previously conducted a field visit to the Al-Saffaha and Ras Al-Fayd areas in Al-Heisha, located in the northwestern boundaries of the region, accompanied by Infrastructure Commissioner Engineer Mohammad Al-Habhabah, along with several relevant department heads from the Authority, as well as Moayad Abu Rumman, Director of the Jordanian Heritage Revival Company, and Mohammad Asfour, President of the Wadi Association for Sustainable Ecosystem Development.
