Two Days in the Rasoun Forest

The long version, for people who would rather sleep in the woodland than drive back to Amman. Day one is the ridge walk from Rasoun down through terraced olive groves and pomegranate to the wadi floor, then up to a cabin clearing where we cook zarb - lamb and vegetables buried in a fire pit for three hours - and eat it under the oaks. Day two starts slowly with mountain tea, then a shorter loop to the old Byzantine winepress cut into the bedrock at Mar Elias before lunch at a family house in Orjan. Total walking is around 18 km over two days. Be clear about the accommodation: a simple wooden cabin, two shared bathrooms, cold-ish showers, no air conditioning and no wifi. It gets down to about 8C at night in spring and autumn, colder than people expect at 1,100 metres. Bring a fleece. There are wild boar in the valley; they avoid people, but they are loud at 2am.