Friends, I continue to tell you about my trip to magical Jordan. After getting acquainted with the country's capital, Amman, and walking through ancient Petra, I headed to the Wadi Rum desert. I was looking forward to an overnight stay in an unusual campsite and a jeep tour of the desert.
Wadi Rum Desert: overnight camping among the mountains
Wadi Rum National Park is a huge complex that is a vast desert area with mountain ranges. The place gained fame thanks to its unusual landscapes: the red sand of the desert resembles views of Mars. This feature is interesting not only to travelers but also to filmmakers. They say on the internet that scenes for the movies "The Martian", "Star Wars: The Force Awakens", and "Aladdin" were filmed in the desert.
I traveled through Jordan independently. The route was as follows: I arrived in Amman, the capital, at night. On the first morning, I went to see the Citadel and the Jordan Museum. The next day I dedicated to walking through amazing Petra and from there I took a bus to Wadi Rum. The travel time according to the schedule — is one and a half hours. In reality, it took us half an hour longer. I bought the bus tickets on the 12Go website.
Entry to the national park territory — is paid. The cost of visiting the complex for foreigners — 7 dinars. I did not pay this amount as this attraction was included in my Jordan Pass tourist package.
It seems to me that most tourists come to the desert for one or several days. The journey here takes quite a long time, so it is more logical to devote at least a day to getting to know this place and stay overnight. There are many tent camps on the territory. Some of them look appropriate for the location — like alien objects. My campsite cost 57 dollars per night. You can choose accommodation options in the desert, for example, on the Trip.com website.
The bus from Petra arrives at the Wadi Rum visitor center. The owner of the campsite was already waiting for me there in a jeep. According to him, I was supposed to sleep alone in the whole camp, but several Malaysian and Chinese grandmothers were traveling with me on the bus, and they decided to find a campsite for the night upon arrival. We took them along too.
The evening at the campsite was very soulful. I had ordered a dinner for 15 dinars, which included a huge rice dish and several salads. Afterward, the other guests and I gathered by the fire, where the owner of the complex and his relatives told us about the life of Bedouins in the desert. The meeting ended with a tasting of camel milk. I should note that many locals speak excellent English, so there will be no communication difficulties for those who know the language.
My next day started around six in the morning because I wanted to see the sunrise in the desert. Many of the cabins in local campsites have panoramic windows, so travelers can watch the desert without leaving their warm beds. The only inconvenience was an ant bite during the night. I don't know if this was a specific feature of my campsite or if insects are found everywhere here.
Originally, on the second day in the desert, I wanted to walk around the Wadi Rum territory on my own, but a few days before the trip, the campsite owner offered me a jeep tour of the complex. This idea seemed interesting to me. I will talk about this adventure in my next article.
Happy travels!
