The Ma'in hot springs lie in a dramatic desert canyon about 30 km southwest of Madaba, where water heated by deep volcanic activity bubbles out at around 63°C and tumbles down a series of small waterfalls. Bedouin families have used them since antiquity; Herod the Great is said to have come here to bathe.
The site is a mix of free public bathing areas and a single luxury resort that controls the upper pools. The free section, lower down the gorge, is the more interesting — locals fill plastic bottles with the mineral water, women come in long robes, the steam rises off the rocks at dawn. Bring a change of clothes; the road in is sealed but steep.