Trekking and hiking in Wadi Rum : Climbing in Wadi Rum

What is given here are some general notes only. Anybody at all seriously interested in hiking or trekking in Jordan should look at the "Jordan out of doors" section where there is a page on the subject. This includes some descriptions of possible hikes in Wadi Rum. You might also like to consult the maps :

Trekking and hiking in Wadi Rum : Jordan in general is a wonderful place for hiking and trekking, and Wadi Rum in particular is renowned for this. In principle, tourists are not encouraged to venture alone into the "wild places" in Jordan, you should take a guide with you for your own safety. Wadi Rum is indeed, the only exception to this rule, which the tourist police will enforce strictly if they find you "wandering" where you are not supposed to be. Note that there are NO large scale maps readily available of Jordan (absolutely NONE!), one rock looks very much like another one, paths are seldom if ever signposted and it is very easy indeed to lose oneself. All too often helicopters have had to be called out to look for lost hikers, and if nobody knows where you are likely to be you would be very fortunate to be found.

A guide for hiking or climbing : the official price for the guide is 60JD per day for hiking or 80-100JD for climbing according to the route. The price is split between the hikers/climbers, so the larger the group the better from your point of view. The guide will usually accept up to about ten or fifteen people for hiking; for climbing it depends on the difficulty of the climb and on your ability. A number of the recognised climbing routes have set prices for the climb - see the climbing section at the end. Again, you can perfectly well try to negotiate this price, except in the high season. This does not apply to the higher graded climbs, where the guide will certainly charge more.

Wadi Rum Mountain Guides and Bedouin Roads offer some guided treks to the better known destinations, that nevertheless take you well away from the general tourist routes. See the page on Tours of Wadi Rum.

It is NOT recommended for people to take themselves out into the desert in their own 4x4 without a guide. Any breakdown or accident can leave you in deep trouble, especially if you are away from the usual areas visited, and you have even more scope for getting lost. However, you can't get into very much trouble on foot in Wadi Rum if you stick reasonably close to the tracks, and nobody will stop you trekking out. You can safely leave your belongings in storage at the Resthouse if you wish. If you are planning to camp out for a day or two or more, it is best to arrange for somebody to supply you with water and of course you will need your own sleeping bag and so forth. There are a couple of semi permanent camp sites (see photo of the Abu Aina camp at the head of the page). There are also a number of "tourist camps" run by the individual guides, it is always possible to sleep here. The usual price is around 15JD for the night, including supper and breakfast. Most guides would give you a lift back to the Resthouse if you ask them - always supposing they are going there, which is a pretty safe bet.

Some very good books on trekking in Jordan are written by the team of Tony Howard and Di Taylor, who have been active in the climbing, trekking and scrambling sectors for a number of years. They are "Treks and climbs in Wadi Rum" by Tony Howard published by the Cicerone Press (available from Amazon UK http://www.amazon.co.uk and "Walks and scrambles in Wadi Rum" this last being a smaller pamphlet type book, consisting mainly of extracts of the first book and describing the "simpler" ie the non-climbing routes. This one is only available in Jordan, in fact it is usually to be found in souvenir shops selling guidebooks, (in Petra for instance, but I have never seen a copy on sale in Wadi Rum!), and it would be a good idea to look out for it if you are planning to do any independent walking around. These books are highly detailed with sketchmaps and are invaluable for anybody wishing to visit Wadi Rum in any detail. Another superb book for the hiker is "Jordan: Walks, Treks, Caves, Climbs, Canyons" by Di Taylor and Tony Howard (Cicerone Press 2000), also available from Amazon UK. This last book covers most of Jordan, including the Northern Highlands, Dana, Wadi Araba and Wadi Mujib, and the Petra area, as well as Wadi Rum. You will notice that most of the treks described add the note "It is recommended (or "essential") to take a guide with you". Tony Howard's website is http://nomadstravel.co.uk.

A close friend and associate of Tony Howard is Wilfried Colonna at desert.guides@wanadoo.fr (website www.desertguides.com) who has been working in Jordan for the last 15 years. You will find his name in many places in the climbing books, (do a websearch!). He is a fully qualified mountain guide and a member of the UIAGM [Union Internationale des Associations de Guides de Montagne]. He now runs a travel agency in Jordan called "Wilfried Colonna and the Desert Guides" which specialises in all kinds of desert activities : hiking, trekking on foot, on horse or camelback - donkeys as well, probably! - and also climbing (see lower down). At present he is introducing trail biking along Wadi Araba - good luck to him. It is not, of course, necessary to go through an agency when you wish to engage in these activities, any of the guides mentioned here is fully competent to organise what you want. It can however be useful to know of this agency which is highly experienced in the area, and if you are interested in joining an already formed group Wilfried is the person to ask. In fact, Attayak Ali once told me that Wilfried probably knew Wadi Rum better than many of the Bedouin living there!

Wilfried's mobile phone number in Jordan is 0777.471.960. He can also be reached through the Alcazar Hotel in Aqaba (tel. 03.201.4131) or through Atallah Sweilhin (see "Reliable contacts") who works very closely with him. His website is at http://www.desertgui des.com

Climbing in Wadi Rum
These are some quick notes; for more detailed information please see the page "Wadi Rum Climbing Information"
If you are interested in Canyoning, please see the page on Canyons

Climbing in Wadi Rum : from the first visits of Tony Howard and his successors in 1984, Wilfried Colonna being among the most active, Wadi Rum has become a world renowned climbing centre and there is some talk of a climbing school being started there. Most of the climbers are here in the spring and the autumn, but you might find some people all the year round.

I repeat the information given higher up about the prices of guides : the official price for the guide is 60D per day for hiking or around 100JD for climbing according to the route. The price is split between the hikers/climbers, so the larger the group the better from your point of view. The guide will usually accept up to about ten or fifteen people for hiking; for climbing it depends on the difficulty of the climb and on your ability. A number of the recognised climbing routes have set prices for the climb. Again, you can perfectly well try to negotiate this price, except in the high season.

The climbing falls into two categories. The classic Bedouin routes are an enjoyable mixture of scrambling and climbing, and within the grasp of anyone with some mountain experience. Some are circular expeditions that involve trekking. The rock routes which have been put up since the mid 1980s are mostly in the higher grades. Minimal use of bolts has been the policy in Rum - partly on ethical grounds and also due to the nature of the sandstone - they fall out after a few years. That said, many routes are hard to protect and bolts are used for abseils and belays. Beware of loose ones. The desecration of natural beauty versus the obvious need for belay points debate is fully explored in the Wadi Rum guest house new routes book. Most of the best known climbing routes are in the general vicinity of the village of Rum, in Wadi Um Ishrin and in the Barragh Canyon.

Most people interested in mountaineering want to climb Jebel Rum (1754m) at least once! The official price for climbing it with a guide is usually around 150JD to 200JD, according to the route chosen. Try to make up a small group to share the expense, check with the guide first to see how many people he will accept. His answer will logically depend largely on your expertise and on your choice of route.

The "Jordan out of doors" section has some sketchmaps and photomaps of several climbs, including ALL the known routes up Jebel Rum!)

Equipment : For most of the free routes in Wadi Rum you will need two 50m+ (or more) double ropes, a full set of nuts, full set of cams and a pile of tape and cord for threads. This is apart from the usual 14 or so quickdraws, harness, daisy chain, shoes etc. Climbing in Rum can be very hard on your ropes, and you would be better off having a spare set, in case you destroy, damage or wear out a rope or two. Aid Climbing : In addition to the above rack you will need a full set of varying types of pitons, hammer, hooks, daisies, etriers and perhaps a single rope or two for leading, fixing and jumaring etc. Except for perhaps one or two routes, or maybe new routes, you should not need hammocks or portaledges. There are large enough ledges for bivouacs on most of the long routes, take a haul bag and a hauling pulley for these routes, unless you move fast enough to complete them in a day. [This list has been supplied by Walter Neser from his website at http://www.wadirum.net and I thank him for allowing me to use it. This site has been recently updated incidentally and contains much useful route information]

In fact, if you are climbing with one of the guides mentioned above, he will usually provide the necessary equipment. If you are planning to climb on your own, even part-time, then yes, you should bring what you will need. It is fairly easy to arrange for somebody to drive you out to a climbing site and meet you again at whatever time you fix (even though this isn't free!)

Although it isn't a serious page about climbing in Wadi Rum, you might like to look at the page in the "Jordan out of doors" section called "Climbing el Habla". You will find some photos and comments on climbing and on the Bedouin climbers which might interest you.

One of the problems in Wadi Rum is the chronic shortage of local guides. Although a programme of training is being set up, it will be several years before the demand can be met. In the meantime climbers coming as tourists and wanting just a day or two climbing the "big walls" but not wanting to drag all their equipment along are often disappointed.

A number of professional guides from other countries visit Wadi Rum regularly, either to climb for pleasure or bringing clients with them for short periods. Most of these guides would accept "outside" clients if they have a day free of other commitments. Wadi Rum Mountain Guides is trying to put together a list of who is available when, but professional guides are notoriously independent (not to mention having odd ideas about photos!), and the best way out is to get in touch with them directly. You can find some contacts below, I am hoping to add to their number.

Philippe BRASS lives near to Grenoble. Besides being a fully qualified mountain guide, UIAGM and UIAA certified, he is also a photo journalist whose articles regularly appear in the French travel and mountain magazines. He has a website at www.escalades.fr

He has been visiting Wadi Rum for over ten years now, bringing clients with him for mountaineering and climbing, both the modern routes and the traditional Bedouin roads. He is on good terms with the local Bedouin climbers.

His email address is brass@club-internet.fr his mobile phone in France is +33.6.81.22.34.48 and his phone/fax is +33.4.76.36.14.03. He would be happy to answer any climbing questions that are not answered here. Also for those whose English is not perfect, he can answer in French!

Pierre VOIGNIER is another old hand in Wadi Rum and like Philippe is popular with the locals. He has been coming for a number years and speaks good English and Arabic. He is a canyoning specialist in France, and frequently takes his clients to various canyoning sites in Jordan which he knows very well. See the web page on Canyoning in Jordan, for which Pierre supplied the photos

This doesn't mean that he isn't a climbing guide: I recently saw him working with novice climbers on a toprope exercise and was rather impressed - particularly when at the end he went up it in bare feet!

Pierre also lives in the Alps at St Jean de Belleville. His email address is pierrevoignier@yahoo.fr and his bilingual website is http://www.lizard-life.com. You can also call him at +33.4.7924.0086 or on his mobile phone +33.6.7629.6492.

Robert Mandin is a newer arrival. He is another French mountain guide, fully qualified UIAGM and another

canyoning specialist who has been working with climbers as a guide for thirty years. He initially came to Wadi Rum to follow his interest in camel trekking and was immediately carried away by enthusiasm for the sandstone cliffs and the "Bedouin Roads". He quickly made friends among the Bedouin, and is hoping to bring clients here next year for a mixture of climbing: the canyoning in the Jordan Rift Valley, the Bedouin Roads on the mountains and the big walls. He is eminently qualified to guide clients on all of these.

He lives near to Chamonix, in the French Alps, his contact details are : Robert Mandin, Les Sablons, Le Pont des Lanternes, 74310 Servoz - France.

His phone/fax number is +33.4.50.91.40.86, mobile phone +33.6.22.60.17.39, his email is robert.mandin@wanadoo.fr and his website, which has an English translation is http://robertmandin.com. It is well worth looking at, he arranges adventure tours of all kinds to many parts of the world besides Jordan.

A particularly good one which has just been put online in December 2004 by Gilles Rappeneau (an expert climber who has been visiting Wadi Rum for many years) is http://wadiram.userhome.ch/ where you can find excellent topos of the "bedouin roads" in Wadi Rum and much other useful and interesting information about the area. It is in French, I admit, but besides the detailed descriptions of the routes, there is always a sketch plan and a satellite photo indicating the way to follow. Gilles must have spent hours on this extraordinary site, and it is a precious source of knowledge for visitors to Rum who hope to explore the "bedouin roads" as well as climbing the big cliffs.

Links to Wadi Rum references and information in this site :

Introduction - Sleeping in Wadi Rum - Getting there and away again - What to see there - prices and tours (including horses and camels) - some longer trips in 4x4 - Reliable contacts and guides - "ripping off" - Nature Reserve - Trekking, hiking and climbing : short notes- - Trekking in Jordan - Riding around Wadi Rum - Camels and camel trekking - Tours of Wadi Rum - Wadi Rum climbing information -
Climbing "El Habla"

Tourist Map of Wadi Rum - Satellite map of Wadi Rum - RSCN Map of Wadi Rum - Out of doors in Jordan : detailed maps of Wadi Rum

There are also several pages of photos of Wadi Rum in the Photo Gallery
and a number of stories about the Bedouin who live there in the section "Meet the people of Jordan"