Wadi Rum desert
Red sandstone mountains sitting on sand, where Lawrence of Arabia ran his campaign.
Duration
8 hrs – 10 hrs
Best time
October to April
Open
Every day
Entry price
To confirm
Wadi Rum is a valley of red sand out of which rise sandstone and granite mountains with sheer walls hundreds of metres high. They are eroded massifs, separated by corridors of sand.
T. E. Lawrence campaigned here alongside the Arab tribes during the First World War, and described it in Seven Pillars of Wisdom — a massif carries that name, if arbitrarily. The desert is inhabited by the Zalabia Bedouin, who manage access and the camps: it is a protected area, not open ground.
Getting there
Four hours by road from Amman, an hour from Aqaba. Access is through Rum village, where the Bedouin four-wheel drives take over.
What the price covers
protected area entry fee, plus the Bedouin 4x4 and the camp; entry is included in the Jordan Pass
What to bring
- Swimsuit
Rules on site
The temperature swing is considerable: thirty-five degrees by day and near zero at night in winter. The Jordan Pass covers entry to the protected area, but not the four-wheel drive or the accommodation.