An endless valley of soaring sandstone and granite cliffs, dust and dry shrubs, under a scorching sun. Such an unfamiliar land, yet so pleasant to the eye, with its pastel colors of all shades of pink and its rocks, eroded into astonishing shapes. Wadi Rum often reminds of Mars, so much that the area has already been used as background setting in some sci-fi movies.

what to do

Obviously, the desert is no place to venture by oneself. When visiting Wadi Rum it is necessary to plan ahead and book a guide, who will pick you up at the visitor center and will show you around accordingly to what agreed. There are a plethora of options to choose from, including hikes, jeep tours, camel trekking, rock climbing and even yoga retreats. Whatever activity you choose to do, spend at least one night in the desert to experience the Bedouin lifestyle and gaze at the millions of stars that blanket the night sky. Accommodation in Wadi Rum consists of Bedouin camps with the typical goat-hair tents (and not-so-typical masonry toilets and hot showers). We stayed at Rum Stars camp and had a great experience.

how to get there

With a rental car it is really easy to reach Wadi Rum as the streets are quite new and well-kept: just pay attention to the speed cameras and, if you come from the north, make sure to take the extremely scenic King's Highway. Without a car, things can be a little bit more complicated but still doable. From and to Petra, there are buses in the morning, with a rather variable timetable, which can be booked for you by your guide. From and to Aqaba, instead, the only option is a taxi. A fair rate at the time of writing is 20JD but, again, it is worth checking with your guide if possible to arrange this for you.