Photo 1. This is Dana Biosphere Reserve and Javier Zapata from Spain, one of my three co-travelers/trip testers/new friends. The MEET project follows a participatory planning approach, where managers of protected areas, local tour operators and service providers work in close synergy to develop ecotourism activities in Mediterranean protected areas. I couldn’t resist writing about my experience from a recent MEET test-trip in Dana Biosphere Reserve in Jordan, called “Rift Valley Mountain Trek”. This package was developed by the managers and the people of the Dana Protected Area, under the coordination of the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN) of Jordan; the tour was conducted by the local tour operator Discovery Circle Tours. Photo 2. Our guide, Aed I feel very lucky I took part in such an authentic and in part also adventurous trip – as our team (of four) was the first to try out this new tour. Local Bedouins, pleasant and friendly, guided us around the Dana Biosphere to Petra. After roughly 100km and five days of hiking (4-7 hours every day) in beautiful mountains and valleys (wadis), we definitely earned our way to the magical site of Petra. The ecotourism character of the trip was...