Don't confuse this with the "Desert Highway" which is the main north-south highway nowadays in Jordan. The Kings' Highway is a very spectacular route which was the original north-south road from Biblical times until recently; today it is largely unused by through traffic which takes the Desert Highway. The Kings' Highway is neither cost nor time friendly for traffic, and unsurprisingly, there is no public transport that runs for all of its length; even the half dozen successive local buses that cover it now have a gap at Wadi Mujib. There have been many improvements to it over the last few years, and although it remains a twisting mountainous road, the surface is better and it is a little bit wider.If you want to drive it, and it is well worth the effort, then you must use arental car or the bus that runs fairly regularly in season from Madaba(qv). Hitching is also a possibility, but you should be prepared to ride in several cars. If you do drive it, allow a whole day, especially if you stop to visit the various sites on the way : Hamamet Ma'in, the castle at Kerak, Wadi Mujib and Wadi Hasa and Dana. This is quite a difficult drive; if you cannot share the driving, try to schedule a less arduous day afterwards. Note that in bad weather, high winds, rain or snow, the Kings' Highway becomes dangerous, and is usually closed.
Many of the canyons of the Kings' Highway can be visited by canyoning enthusiasts - see the web page on "Canyoning in Jordan". In particular Wadi Mujib is one of theNature Reserves of Jordan with a highly organised (and popular) trekking programme.
The top entrance to the Nature Reserve of Wadi Mujib lies just off the Kings' Highway at Faq'a. Turn to the right (west) after Ariha, that is after you have passed the canyon shown above, at a village called Al Qasr. In theory you are about 70lkms from Madaba at this point and perhaps 10/12kms from Kerak. The other entrance to the Reserve is on the Dead Sea Highway.
There are some more photos of Wadi Mujib on the Photo Gallery pages.The Madaba mosaic map: With introduction and commentary
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