I have been planning to visit Jordan for a very long time and did finally book a week long trip in 2020. And as we all know the world completely changed that year. It also changed a lot of us and I feel it also changed our perspective towards life. We are now more concerned about our well being and tend to spend more time doing what we really love to do.
Anyway, fast forward from 2020 to 2023 and I finally made that dream trip to Jordan this year. I started my travel in the capital city of Amman and visited Jerash, Mount Nebo, Madaba, the rose city of Petra, Wadi Rum, Aqaba – Jordan’s only port city on the Red Sea, Kerak Castle and finally the Dead Sea.
While I had a wonderful experience in every place I visited in the country, I am sharing one in this travel story which I loved. It was my first experience of spending a night in a camp within the Wadi Rum desert and it was a total ‘out of the world’ experience for me in the literal sense. Wadi Rum was declared a UNESCO World Heritage in 2011.
Wadi Rum is also known as the Valley of the Moon due to its landscape. But it looks more like the red planet if your have seen The Martian film due the colour of the sand and surrounding hills in the area. Wadi, means river valley and Wadi Rum is the largest river valley in Jordan bordering with Saudi Arabia. The river valley lies between sandstone and granite rocks.
I reached Wadi Rum in the afternoon and my first stop was at the old Wadi Rum Hejaz railway station where a refurbished locomotive is kept on the old railway track. This is also known as station of Lawrence after Lawrence of Arabia.
After the railway station, I stopped at the Wadi Rum visitor centre. This is like the entry check point to Wadi Rum. From outside the visitor centre a beautiful view of the Seven Pillars of Wisdom can be seen.
It was a short drive from the visitor centre to the desert camp. On reaching the camp, I was welcomed with hot mint tea and then checked into my air-conditioned tent which was nice and comfortable with ensuite facilities having running hot and cold water. Around 3 pm, I went out for a 2 hour tour of the Wadi Rum in a 4WD. The drive through the desert was bit bumpy but throughly exhilarating and the tour included several stops.
The first stop was in the middle of nowhere with just red sands surrounded by rocky hills where films like The Martian, Dune and others were shot. After enjoying the views and taking some photos, it was time to hop on to the back of the jeep and travel deeper into the Wadi.
The next stop was to look at the rock inscriptions made by Nabateans mostly of animals. It was wonderful to see something so old and it truly gave meaning to the phrase ‘carved in stone’.
The red sands of the Wadi Rum along with the rocky mountains create quite a surreal experience and it is quite difficult to explain that feeling of what you actually sense in the midst of that landscape and atmosphere.
After this I was back on the jeep again, travelling through the vast expanse of the Wadi and then stopped at a Bedouin tent to enjoy freshly made cardamom tea while lounging on the colourful and comfortable cushions made by the Bedouins using goat hair. It was next to this tent where I saw the dilapidated house where Lawrence of Arabia once lived.
With the taste of cardamom tea still lingering on my palate, it was time to move on to the next stop where I saw the face of Lawrence carved on a stone. After another cup of cardamom tea in the next Bedouin tent, I left for the final stop on the tour where I walked to the top of a small hill. It was from here that I waited and watched one of the most beautiful sunsets.
I have seen sunsets in deserts before but this one in the middle of the Wadi Rum landscape was truly spectacular. Not sure if I will ever visit a similar place again but these wonderful moments will be etched in my memory forever.
After enjoying the sunset I drove back to the camp in the light of setting run and the atmosphere started getting lit up in the twilight glow. After freshening up it was time to enjoy a freshly cooked wholesome dinner.
The dinner on that night was a special one called Zarb made by Bedouin people. Meat with spices and vegetables are all put on a layered circular frame, covered with foil and lowered in a sand pit filled with coal. It is then covered with sand. The food gets thoroughly cooked for hours in the sand oven of the desert. This was again a totally new experience for me.
Post dinner, I went for a short walk on the sands which had cooled down a lot and watched the clear night sky. Once the dinner for all guests was over, everyone from the camp sat around the fire where our bedouin hosts starting singing traditional songs while playing the local stringed instruments.
After enjoying a lovely day and evening ending with great food and lively music, it was time to get a well deserved sleep in the tent in the middle of Wadi Rum.
HELPFUL HINTS:
- For early risers there is an option to go out for a camel ride in the desert and watch the sunrise.
- It is prudent to book the 4WD safaris and tents earlier through recognised travel agents or companies.
- There are a lot of camps to choose based on budget and comfort levels.
- 4WD drives can get very bumpy, so it is best to be prepared for that.
- A covering for face, eyes and nose is good to have during the jeep safari to avoid the sands.
- For those interested, there are many hiking routes within Wadi Rum.
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