Bedouins Desert Camp, Jordan.

Wadi Rum is a unique desert destination, laying between sand and mountains. It's just the right place for an unforgettable experience in the desert!

Wadi Rum is an inhospitable place of extremes with blistering summer heat and frigid winter temperatures, making this area of 750 sq km unforgiving to humans. Yet the Bedouins have named it home for thousands of years.

This protected unique desert destination, between sand and mountain, is one of UNESCO’s four World Heritage Sites in Jordan. Called "The Valley of the Moon" for good reason, the natural wonders of the place are countless as there are many stunning rock formations and an impressive night sky to create a unique and worthwhile destination for me. It's the right place for an unforgettable adventure in the desert! I instantly thought that was the next place to be, so I started searching for my flight tickets!

Red Sand Dunes (Umm Ishrin)

How To Get In

Fly to Amman, or Aqaba and get a bus or a taxi, depending on the size of your group. Wadi Rum is a short road from the Desert Highway between Aqaba and Amman. A side road, 40 km north of Aqaba, leads 21 km to the entrance where you will find the Wadi Rum Visitors Centre. From the capital Amman, you can get regular buses (around 8-15 euros/4hours) direct towards Ma'an or Aqaba. On the other hand, if you are south of Jordan, you can get to Wadi Rum by catching any bus/minibus (1-4 euros) from the Aqaba bus station headed to Amman, or Petra and get off at the Wadi Rum turnoff. The turnoff is well-marked on the highway to Aqaba, about 40 km out of Aqaba. Once at the junction, you can take another minibus (1-3 euros) or hitch hike (common in this area) to the Visitor's Centre where you can meet your guide. A taxi from Aqaba to the visitor's center costs you around 35 euros and from Amman airport costs around 120 euros.

Outside of the visitor centre, you can find guides offering 4x4 or camel treks and camps for overnight in the desert. The entrance fee for the Wadi Rum Protected Area is 5 JD per person (around 7 euros). I met my guides Mohammed and Saleh, and we started a full day jeep tour around the desert with an overnight at a Bedouin host family for a night in their traditional tent!

Mohammed explained to me that Bedouins are nomads indigenous at a number of Middle Eastern countries, including Jordan. Bedouin means "desert people" in the Arabic language. He told me that the Bedouins are the first inhabitants of Jordan. Many centuries ago, even before the borders of the Jordanian Kingdom were drawn, Bedouins wandered the desert between Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Palestine, and Jordan. They traditionally lived a nomad lifestyle, moving seasonally depending on grazing conditions as they were driven their herds of sheep, goats, and camels crossed the desert for grazing. They used to camp in one place for a few months until the food found in the area was consumed by their animals. However, he mentioned that nowadays only a small part of Bedouins in Jordan maintain this traditional nomad lifestyle as many of them have settled down to grow vegetables and fruits in villages.

Umm Fruth Rock Bridge

We went all day around to all the of the main highlights of Wadi Rum where the white and red sands meet, I climbed on some of the most precarious spots and I enjoyed lovely views of the desert!

The most commonly visited spot was said to be a dune sloping up alongside a jebel - a bit tough to climb up, great fun to run down though! It can be difficult ascending those, so use small steps. Here you can also try sand boarding!

Lunch was prepared in the desert and it was really delicious!

In the evening, after whole day the desert tour, I enjoyed an overnight at a Bedouin host family in their bayt shacar: a special traditional tent made out of strips of goat hair and sheep's wool. Since I have personally tried it, I can say that this is a highly recommended adventure for all of us who are happy to sacrifice comfort for a truly unforgettable experience!

Staying with Bedouins allows for immersion into nomadic customs and an opportunity for deeper cross-cultural discussion! If you can spend one more night deep in the Jordanian desert I suggest you sleep with a sleeping bag outside on the mountain below of the night sky and the luminous canopy of stars. I really enjoyed the whole experience in the Wadi Rum desert!