On our second day in Wadi Rum, after our little taster with the sunset rides and star gazing the night before, we finally got to head out and explore the breadth and depth of Wadi Rum properly.
To say we were excited would be something of an understatement.
We got up bright and early, wolfed down breakfast in our hotel at record speed (our hotel is the amazing Memories Aicha Luxury Camp) and hurriedly ran out to meet our driver with all the enthusiasm usually reserved for a kid in a candy store.
Our driver arrived again in a similar truck to the one we were picked up in when we first showed up in Wadi Rum which meant that we could either sit inside or choose to sit outside.
As per before, we chose to sit outside because we really wanted to see EVERYTHING.
Our first stop was at the foot of this hill to see some ancient inscriptions on the rocks and it also proved to be the perfect spot to just stop for a moment in the mid day sun and go for a little walk across the desert.
By the way, this place is called Lawrence’s Spring, well… due to the spring that’s there.
Understandably, a spring in the desert is quite a big deal.
The landscape here is so incredible.
I’ve said it and I’ll keep saying it, Wadi Rum truly looks and feels like nowhere else we’ve ever been to.
Our driver then suggested taking us to a sand dune and honestly, it wouldn’t really have mattered what spot he suggest we go see next, we would have just said yes.
The sand dunes are pretty amazing and I definitely recommend doing the walk to the top of it because the view from up here is amazing.
Some people also came here to go sandboarding, but after doing that in South Africa, we politely declined.
It’s such a work out – which we’d normally be up for but we still had many other rocks and mini hills to climb so we figured we probably should pace ourselves.
At the bottom of the sand dunes, there was a little hut where the locals hung out to cool off in the desert heat which turned out to be a great place to stop for tea too.
Also, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise; hot tea in this heat absolutely works. 😋😋
Next up we drove a little further up to Khazali Canyon where we had to scale some rocks to make our way to the entrance of it.
It’s pretty easy but the canyon is also fairly narrow so you can only venture so far inside of it before turning back.
We didn’t head back to the car immediately though.
We chose instead to stop for a bit and venture around on foot to truly soak up the landscape all around us.
The sheer height of the mountains is just so incredible.
Leaving that, we then headed to a spot I remember seeing in photos before we even arrived in Wadi Rum.
We were actually looking for the Burdah Rock Bridge when we found it and it turned out to be a nice detour as it has one of the best views over the desert.
It does need a bit a bit of scrambling to get to the top of it but nothing too strenuous.
After that we carried on to Thomas Edward Lawrence’s house.
And for the unfamiliar, Thomas Edward Lawrence or T. E. Lawrence is the famed Lawrence of Arabia and this is where he stayed while he was in Wadi Rum.
Before the house existed there was actually a pre-existing Nabataeans structure that had been built over two thousand years ago and that structure used to be used as a station for passing caravans.
Also, while on the subject of people in the desert, it is important to mention some of the most important here – the Nabataean.
The Nabataean were the ancient Arab people who lived, travelled and traded all around this area of Jordan (and in other countries as well).
Now, remember how we were in Petra (in Jordan) on this day and then also on this day and even this trip to Little Petra?
Well, Petra was the capital of the Nabataeans and their story from there carries on through to Wadi Rum too.
There’s even an ancient Nabataean temple in Wadi Rum that’s totally worth a visit too.
Next we got dropped off at one end of Abu Khashaba Canyon which our driver told us to walk through and that he would meet us at the other end.
It’s so incredible, and this time, the canyon is wide and quite sandy.
The views as you walk through are so spectacular and it’s just filled with this beautifully fine sand all the way through.
It is a little bit of a trek but after being in a car all day so far, it just feels good.
Plus the canyon is in the shade by after lunchtime so it’s nice and cool and pretty easy to walk through.
After meeting our driver at the other end of Abu Khashaba Canyon, we carried on to our next stop which is the famous Um Fruth Rock Arch.
I’d seen photos of people climbing it but when we actually showed up there, I initially chickend out of the idea of climbing it because that thing is so high!
You also have to scale the side of the rocks here, which feels almost vertical at points, just to get to it.
It took a few moments of watching other people doing it quite easily for me to convince myself to go ahead and do it and the view from up there is pretty amazing!
Leaving here, we decided to go hang out with some of the locals and watch the sun set but more on that in the next post as this post is now getting so very long. Hahaha!
The next post is available here, by the way.
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