Tiny houses in Jordan

Two pockets make up Jordan's verified stays so far, and they could hardly be more different. Wadi Rum, the vast desert of sandstone mountains and red dunes in the south near Aqaba, accounts for most of the listings — seven of twelve — and nearly all of them are fixed transparent bubble domes. Ajloun Forest, a wooded reserve in the country's northwest, holds the rest: five simple cabins among oak and pistachio trees.

Wadi Rum needs little introduction — this is the desert that stood in for Mars in Hollywood films and inspired T.E. Lawrence's writing, a landscape of towering rock formations, canyons and dunes that turns deep orange at sunset. The bubble camps here are built around that view: transparent or semi-transparent domes pitched on the sand so guests can watch the stars from bed, usually run by Bedouin-owned outfits alongside jeep tours and campfire dinners. It's a higher-end segment of glamping — the average night across Jordan runs around 128 euros, pulled up by these desert domes — rather than budget backpacking.

Ajloun is the quieter counterpart, a nature reserve of Mediterranean oak forest around the 12th-century Ajloun Castle, cool and green in a country better known for desert. The cabins here are simple wooden buildings rather than domes, a good match for hikers and for anyone combining a stay with the Roman ruins at Jerash, less than an hour away.

The two regions run on different clocks. Wadi Rum is best from October to April, when desert days are warm but not punishing and nights are clear for stargazing — summer here is genuinely too hot for camping. Ajloun's forest is at its best in spring (March to May) and autumn (September to November). Both are reached via Amman's airports, with camps in Wadi Rum typically arranging pickup from the village or from Aqaba. Jordan's tiny-house map is still just these two pockets rather than a nationwide network, but each is a distinct and worthwhile trip in its own right.

Five fixed desert tents now sit among Wadi Rum's dunes, each with a private bathroom and a real bed rather than a mattress on the ground. One at the Moon City camp adds air conditioning and a spa bath; a simpler Bedouin-style tent at Saleh's Safari Camp keeps to the essentials. Rates start at €12.50.