The Dead sea

Tried every mud wrap, detoxifying scrub and mineral bath that our city's spas have to offer and are still convinced you can do more in the quest for perfect pores and eternally youthful looks?

Well, the dramatic Jordan Valley may be the lowest point on earth, but if you're looking for one of the ultimate travel highs, the Dead Sea, with its magical cocktail of salts and minerals and an enriched oxygen atmosphere that detoxes you from the inside out, means it has been the getaway of choice for indulgence seekers for the past 2,000 years.

Marc Anthony, the Queen of Sheba, Cleopatra... they've all slathered on the Dead Sea's rich, black mud (or got someone else to do it for them, at least) and floated away their ills in the salty waters, and the novelty hasn't worn off.

With luxury hotels aplenty, sunrises over the mountains in the east and sunsets against the hills of Jerusalem to the west, if your body doesn't thank you for the beautifying bonanza it's in for, your soul certainly will.

While you're there

Live in luxury
Whether you're breathing in the salty air from your suite or contemplating life from the tents on Jordan's longest private beach, or enjoying the shade of the olive trees by the pools, the Kempinski Hotel Ishtar Dead Sea is the perfect place to spend your rejuvenating reverie.

Get stuck in the mud
Smother yourself in the famous black mud, or stretch out for one of the luxurious treatments at the Kempinski's Anantara Spa and let the therapists get their hands dirty for you. Alternatively head to King Herod's old haunt and sit back in the bubbling springs at Hammamat Zarqa Ma'in and Al-Himma.

Up the pace
Scrubbing up with stimulating Dead Sea mud not enough to get that blood seriously pumping? Tackle one of the hikes from the Dead Sea through the 50 metre-high walls and waterfalls of Wadi Mujib, or brave the heat and get those running shoes on for the Dead Sea Ultra Marathon, held every April.