WADI RUM Page 2
Sights to see and prices of tours

• Wadi Rum page 1 :
  Introduction - Sleeping in Wadi Rum - Getting there and away again
• Wadi Rum page 2 :
  Prices and tours (including horses and camels) - What to see there - some longer trips in 4x4
• Wadi Rum page 3 :
  Reliable contacts and guides - "ripping off" - Nature Reserve
• Wadi Rum page 4 :
  Trekking and hiking - climbing in Wadi Rum

Prices and tours : the trips to most of the sites are posted at the Visitors' Centre together with the official prices charged to get there.

These prices are also given in the first page about Wadi Rum in the section about the New Visitors' Centre.

Short trips are available which allow you to go "into the desert" but not very far. The "Lawrence Spring" trip takes you for about 5 or 6 kilometers, the Khazali Canyon a little bit more. The distances given on the chart (a photo of the board at the Visitors' Centre) are two way.

THESE PRICES WILL ALL BE INCREASED IN JUNE 2006!
Sorry, I don't yet know the new ones

As you see, as you get further away the tours get progressively more expensive. If you want to see the Burdah Rock Bridge from the desert floor, it will cost you 45JD; the Barragh Canyon goes up to 50JD.

In every case, the prices given here are the prices of the vehicle only. The vehicle seats up to 6 people but the driver is a driver only and NOT a guide. He may or may not speak English: if he does speak English he may or may not talk to you about where you are going. Few of the older men speak much English at all.

No food or water is supplied on these trips, even the long ones. The price does not include a night in the desert which comes out at 25JD/person.

Now all of this is pretty expensive, and in fact if you can get in touch with a guide directly you can nearly always get a better deal - usually a considerably better deal, depending on the guide. I give some names in the page of "useful contacts", these are the people who will charge an honest price, usually for a longer trip with an overnight included.

Please see the page "Tours of Wadi Rum" where "Wadi Rum Mountain Guides" and "Bedouin Roads" have produced a selection of tours of Wadi Rum by 4x4, on camelback, hiking with or without a bit of scrambling, or a mixture of all three and lasting from one to five days. The prices they offer are noticeably inferior to the official prices, especially as they include all "extras".

Camel Trips

Here are the prices for camel trips. Again these are the prices for the camel and the guide only. Any food and an overnight when called for must be considered as "extras" at your expense.

Note that most camels will proceed at approx 4-5 mph, so you don't get really very far in one day, which is why the sites offered by jeep are not offered for the camels. If you want several days, you should negotiate and be sure how much you will be paying for food and sleeping, plus a handler to take care of the animal. Almost any of the guides at the Resthouse could organise a proper camel trek for you, but if you just want to ride around, there are plenty of camels on offer for an hour or two. You might like to look at the web page on Camels and Camel Trekking.

Please note also that these prices are for a camel led by somebody - invariably a small boy. It is usually far more enjoyable to go out with a guide mounted on his camel, but this is inevitably more expensive since you will be paying more for the guide and his camel as well as your own. If there are several of you, it is easier to absorb this extra price, and you can go further - and faster - and see far more. Don't worry about riding a camel, it is in fact pretty easy, much easier than riding a horse!

Horses are more expensive : generally 60JD per day. This price also drops if there are several of you, and should you opt for a trek of several days, everything is included in the price: all food, intendance and camping equipment. This applies to trekking inside Wadi Rum. See the page "On horseback around Wadi Rum". Get in touch with Attalah Sweilhin (phone/fax +962.3.203.3508, mobile +962.795.802.108 - but the mobile doesn't work very well when he is at home, he lives in the shadow of the mountains - email rumhorses@yahoo.co.uk). See also below under "trekking" and under "reliable contacts".

You can also find horses in Rum Village. They are owned by Saleem Ali at Jordan Tracks (see www.jordantracks.com) email saleemali@jordantracks.com mobile phone +962.795.298.046. Saleem  can arrange short rides into the desert.

Beit Ali incidentally is the centre of the hot air ballooning which has resumed recently. The balloons are prohibited from going above the Wadi Rum massifs (considered dangerous because of the air currents), but Shakriya is more open and you still get the magnificent views. The ballooning is organised by the Royal Aerosports Club of Jordan in Aqaba, phone number  03-205.8050/51 mobile 079-574.1441. I warn you that the price for a flight is 400JD for a maximum of 5 people.

Note also that during the summer Wadi Rum is very hot! When I say hot, I mean afternoon temperatures that easily go over 40°C and during these hours it is not feasible to visit around. Everybody should sleep it off in the shade and take up the visit after 5pm! In fact, a siesta after lunch is usually welcome even in the spring and the autumn.

What is there to see at Wadi Rum ?

First and foremost of course, the general atmosphere of the place. What follows are only some of the sights that you could expect to visit in a standard 4x4 tour - there are many other beautiful places which are really only accessible on foot. There are many more that I have no room to mention here.

Different ways of visiting Wadi Rum
(photos © JTB)

The usual tours take you past "Lawrence's Spring", the great red sand dunes in Wadi Um Ishrin, to Jebel Khazali to see the Canyon and the rock drawings there. Note that the "Lawrence's Spring" that is shown in the tour is at Abu Aina; this is where the water from the spring actually comes out into the desert. If you want to see the spring exactly as described in "Seven Pillars of Wisdom" you need to take the path behind the Resthouse which climbs to Wadi Shelaala. On the credit side, you don't need a guide for this, just a couple of hours of your time, and Shelaala is very attractive and cool, even in the heat of summer. Take along a plastic goblet to taste the water that comes down from above (not the water below in which people often follow Lawrence's example of bathing).

Khazali Canyon always seems to me to be a bit overrated. OK so there are some special Nabatean inscriptions there, but the canyon is less than 100 meters long (depending on what exactly you are measuring.) It is true that there is nothing similar anywhere else in Wadi Rum. Jebel Khazali is a very dignified mountain, it always reminds me of a king wearing a crown! This is the mountain that is very often shown as "typical of Wadi Rum".

Um Fruth is a rock bridge which is very easily climbed. It is quite different from the bridge at Burdah which is over 300 meters up from the desert floor. As you see here, Um Fruth must be about 12 or 15 meters up, and there is a gully giving easy access to the top. On the other hand the bridge is pretty narrow, so people who don't like heights are advised to be careful and/or have a sympathetic companion who is willing to lend a hand.

The Barragh Canyon is very much worth visiting but is far enough away from Rum Village that it is much more expensive to go there. For this reason, you are unlikely to meet many tourists there. The Canyon is very popular with climbers. It would be extraordinary if at least one team wasn't climbing when you are there, but you don't always notice them easily, ask your driver to indicate the most popular climbs - "Merlin's Wand" is the classic one. (This doesn't apply to the summer and the warmer months, when it is considered too hot too climb). If you have the time and your guide is cooperative, you might like to ask him to drop you at the top of the canyon and pick you up at the bottom. The canyon is about two or three kilometers long, and makes a very pleasant walk, call it about an hour. You are likely to be in shade most of the time, and a break from driving can be welcome.

Incidentally, it was in the Barragh Canyon that the meeting between "Lawrence" and "Prince Faisal" took place in the film "Lawrence of Arabia" - NOT in reality, let me point out, although a very respectable (official) website asserts that it did!

The best known site is probaby the spectacular rock bridge on Jebel Burdah, nearly 20kms from Rum Village and some 350m up from the desert floor. There are several routes up this mountain, some require roping up, and should only be tackled with a qualified guide. Others are no more than a scramble. If you have the time and the energy necessary, this is one of the not-to-be-missed places in Wadi Rum, if only for the view when you get to the top. (See photo in the Climbing section). Several of the "Wadi Rum Mountain Guide" tours will take you up to the bridge.

Most climbers stop there, but if you can summon the energy to continue to the top of the mountain, the views are even more spectacular. If you are with a guide, obviously the price will be higher for this.

For walkers there are very many more possibilities, for those willing to tackle rougher ground, more still. See the page on "Trekking" in the section "Out of doors in Jordan" and the "Tours of Wadi Rum" page.

Some longer trips possible by 4x4 in Wadi Rum

It is easy to sneer at the 4x4s available for visiting Wadi Rum. When one first sees them, one's inevitable reaction tends to be "they date from the time of Lawrence of Arabia". In fact, however primitive or ancient they might look, most of them are kept in prime condition (in the driver's own interest!) and work very well indeed. A good number of them are of fairly recent date, and many of the guides who could afford a "landcruiser" type of transport actually prefer the pickups as being more versatile. I admit that the comfort tends to vary a bit, but a breakdown is all but unknown, and while punctures are an everyday risk, the drivers seem able to change a wheel in the time it takes one to smoke a cigarette.

"Lawrence's way to Aqaba through the mountains". This can be done by 4x4 (the usual price is 35JD/person in a jeep with a minimum of 2 people, but this price will come down if there are 5 of you or more), by camel 70JD per person, (the camel has to come back afterwards) or by hiking it with a guide - the usual hiking prices apply. Horses find this route more difficult, two days is a minimum. [Incidentally, this wasn't the route that TE Lawrence took to attack Aqaba, but who cares?] The desert track will take you to Wadi Itms and here you are usually met by a taxi to take you the rest of the way; you can expect the price of the taxi to be included in the price quoted.

One point : the rules of the Nature Reserve do not allow this trek to be done in the other direction ie Aqaba to Wadi Rum. It's a pity, but the authorities are quite inflexible about this. I'm not quite sure of the reasons, there are a number of possibilities, running from the non-payment of entrance fees for visiting 4x4s, to the lack of control on entries, and to the Bedouin smuggling duty free goods from Aqaba. In any case no authorization is given and there is a police post there now to stop anybody trying it.

The summit of Um Adaami and the view beyond

The highest point in Jordan is Jebel Um Adaami (1830m), far to the south of the village of Rum. The views from the top are magnificent, especially to the south over Saudi Arabia, and the drive of some 50kms (one way!) is quite beautiful. The ascent isn't difficult for people in reasonable physical condition - it is more difficult to find somebody who knows how to get there! The route is not generally well known and the driving conditions towards the end are extremely difficult, a good car and a very good driver are needed. You should apply to one of the "mountaineering specialists", even if ropes are not necessary here. It is possible to get there in a 4x4, climb and come back again in one long day. The price for the day trip for the car is 120JD for a maximum of six people, including the climb. If you want also to have supper and bivouac in the desert, then I am afraid that the price is higher according to how many people you are.

(You can see some more photos of Um Adaami on the page on "Tours of Wadi Rum" and the photo gallery page ("Some favourite places in Wadi Rum")

It is also possible to ask for a drive "to the south" where you will be going far from Rum Village, perhaps 30 or 40 kilometers out. This area is almost entirely unfrequented by tourists, you may see an occasional Bedouin tent, but nothing much more. This drive might come expensive, a fair charge would probably be 50-60JD for the car. It depends also on how many you are and if you want your guide to provide lunch or if you are bringing your own picnic.

The cheaper guides do not usually offer the option of any of these longer trips - some of their colleagues claim that they don't know the way!

Dissieh

The bridge at Jebel Kharazeh in the Dissieh area

I should like to say a quick word about the region of Dissieh, to the north and the east of Wadi Rum. Dissieh has much the same scenery as its neighbour, and is just about as beautiful. Until recently I was very happy to suggest that people go there as an alternative to the more popular Wadi Rum. However it has become the area to which cheap tour operators take their clients, since it is outside the Nature Reserve recently established and hence much less governed by rules. In a word, it is less expensive to take people there and it is not necessary to be a recognised tourist guide to do so.

These "outsiders" to the area are invariably far less scrupulous than the members of the Bedouin Societies of Rum and of Dissieh about such matters as respect of the environment, and most of their rubbish is simply discarded in the desert instead of being brought back to the village. Dissieh is fast becoming a rubbish dump, which it simply doesn't deserve. If you should decide to go with one of these people, usually from Aqaba (taxi drivers are particularly enthusiastic about taking people here) please try to persuade them to pick up any empty tins, plastic bags, etc etc.

Besides the rock bridge at Kharazeh, you should also have a look at "Abu Hawl" (the "father of terror"). These dramatic two meter high rock drawings are not far from the road, and certainly any driver should know how to get there! The bridge at Kharazeh is a good 30kms from the village at Wadi Rum though.

You might also be interested in the "Palace" built for the filming of the television game "Desert Forges" which is nearby. This looks like becoming one of the local monuments - one wonders what guides will say about it in a few decades.... At the moment the story told by the stranger to the area that bring tourists here, is that it was built for the Lawrence of Arabia film. Sorry but no. It was in fact built in 1998.  A number of people from Shakriya and Disseh participated in its building and in the filming of the programme. The programme in fact was not particularly successful and filming was abandoned after the first season.

"JORDANJUBILEE" is now available as a book, which is much more convenient for reference if you are travelling around. You can buy it online if you wish by clicking on our securized site, or it is on sale in a number of places in Jordan

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Revised December 2004