Wadi Rum

I randomly came across the "behind the scenes" clips of the upcoming Disney movie "Aladdin" the other day and saw shots of a very familiar looking desert. It took me only a second to figure out that it was none other than Wadi Rum in Jordan. It is instantly recognisable because there is no other like it. 

Wadi Rum means "valley of the moon". It is a vast expanse of desert in the southern part of Jordan that has red coloured sand and some unique rock structures.

It is located in Aqaba District and is about an hour's drive from Petra. So if one is planning a trip to Petra, it is not a bad idea to include a visit to Wadi Rum as well. Tour of the desert is quite cheap compared to Petra.  Another option is to reach Aqaba from Amman and then take a taxi to Wadi Rum which is about half an hour’s drive from there. All three locations are situated in the south of Amman in the following order: Petra and then Wadi Rum and Aqaba. 

Wadi Rum is a desert, with no roads, buildings or any other kind of basic infrastructure facility, so no bus or any other kind of mass transit system reaches it. One has to take a taxi from either Aqaba or Petra to get to it. Taxi from Petra to Wadi Rums costs around 40 JODs and can seat 4 passengers. Taxi from Aqaba costs around 25 JODs. Foreigners and non-Jordanians are also required to pay a 5 JOD per person entrance fee before entering the Wadi Rum Protected area which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

As far as I can recall it is not possible to visit the desert on your own (though I may be wrong about this). One has to book a tour with one of the local tour company/ camping site to be able to access it.

Queen of  the Bedouins 

Our four hours desert tour, along with dinner and overnight stay plus breakfast cost us about 40 JODs per person but the price can go up or down depending upon the campsite/ touring company chosen and the duration of the desert tour.  One has the option to go for the entire package, or just opt for 2, 4 or 6 hours tour of the desert minus the overnight stay. There are several companies that offer these tours and can even arrange for pick and drop from Petra or Aqaba (at an extra charge).

But why go at all?

Because it is one of the most amazingly mesmerising places on earth. 

Due to its unique red coloured sand, Wadi Rum has been depicted as the surface of the planet Mars in the movie, " The Martian".  Apart from "The Martian", the natural settings of Wadi Rum have served as the set of several other films including shooting of scenes from, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Prometheus, Rogue One: a star Wars story and lately Aladdin, to name a few.

Perhaps the movie that made Wadi Rum famous was David Lean's 1962 film, "Lawrence of Arabia".  There is a particular area called Lawrence's Spring here which got its name because the lead character, Peter O Tool, who played the part of "Lawrence of Arabia", used to come to this place with his crew members to collect water. The spring is located up on a hill. It is a 20 or so minutes climb to the spring but since water is scarce in the desert, the climb is worth it.

Ancient inscriptions on the rocks near the spring told ancient travellers about the presence and location of water. I guess it was a kind of primordial sign board.

The local Bedouins use water sparingly, it being a precious commodity. Apart from the natural springs, another source of water is the rain water reserves which fill up during the rains and can be used by the locals for several months afterwards.

There are many beautiful rock formations in the desert and several canyons, arches and sand dunes that can be climbed. The climb is neither easy nor for the faint hearted but the view at the top makes the whole effort worthwhile. Not to mention that the climb itself gives one a sense of achievement.

A four hour or more tour of Wadi Rum is gruelling and strongly tests your stamina and endurance.  It can be demanding but exhilarating.  Local Bedouins act as guides.  Fortunately, you are allowed to rest in the middle and offered free Bedouin hospitality tea, as much as you want to drink, to freshen you up. It is always a good idea to make sure that the guide being allocated to you speaks reasonable enough English. His being talkative and gregarious can be a bonus because then he is likely to offer more information about the desert as compared to a silent, brooding one. There is one Bedouin village inside the Wadi Rum Protected area and many Bedouin families have now taken up residence there but from time to time many go back to the desert and live there for months following their centuries old way of life surviving only on what nature provides them with. They are nomads at heart and setting up roots in one place does not appeal to them. 

Wadi Rum is known for its magnificent view of a star filled sky especially on moonless nights but I think it is the vast expanse of open space that that makes the desert truly amazing . The openness of the vast rust coloured stretch of land gives one a sense of freedom and liberty. Stretching for miles in all directions, the desert appears limitless as if existing in a timeless capsule of its own, away from the mad hustle and bustle of the modern world.

Definitely a place worth adding to one’s bucket list.