The most amazing, life changing experience in one of the most spectacular places. Wadi Rum and everyone there…..thank you.
Steph D
Location
Terrain
Difficulty
Accommodation and Meals
Fixed Desert Camp, Desert Wild Camping, Hotel
Duration
5 days
Meeting Point
Aqaba
Annual Leave
4 days
Group Size
Up to 20
Seasons
November to March
Walking Distance
50km
Lynsey is requested time and time again by our repeat trekkers. She is a full time mountain leader based in the North East of England.
Trek 50km through the Wadi Rum, getting off the beaten track and experiencing areas few tourists get to see.
Wild camp in amazing settings, learn about Bedouin customs and culture, and gather round the campfire to look up at vast, Arabian skies.
Finish in Aqaba, an ancient port which has been inhabited since 4000BC, and visit the souks and its date palm lined streets.
All the info you need
Trip Details
Mysterious rock formations. Sweeping sand dunes. Burnt-red sandstone arches and canyons. Rock art, petroglyphs up to 5000 years old, depicting a time when ostriches and lions roamed.
Still home to several Bedouin tribes, the Wadi Rum, or ‘the Valley of the Moon’ is famous for its association with British officer T. E. Lawrence, Lawrence of Arabia, who passed through several times during the Arab Revolt of 1917–18. In the 1980s, one of the rock formations in Wadi Rum, originally known as Jabal al-Mazmar (The Mountain of the Plague), was named "The Seven Pillars of Wisdom" after Lawrence's book penned in the aftermath of the war. It is now famous as the backdrop to many a Hollywood film, including Martian and Dune, and as the latest setting for the Channel 4 Series ‘Who Dares Wins’.
This short, 50km route, specially devised by Tribal Tracks takes you through some of the best scenery of the Wadi Rum, accessing remote areas very much off the usual route, allowing us to wild camp in amazing areas and experience spectacular sunsets which turn into huge night skies, unpolluted by artificial light.
Trip Details
Let the adventure begin!
Your journey begins at London Gatwick, where the Tribal Tracks leader will meet you at the airport. Setting off on the morning flight, on a direct route taking roughly 5hrs 40mins, we will arrive at Aqaba, Jordan’s southernmost city located where the Jordanian, Egyptian and Israeli borders meet, in the late afternoon. We will be welcomed by our Jordanian team at the airport and then it is a short transfer by bus, and then open topped 4WD jeep, to a basic but welcoming fixed desert camp, hidden in a spectacular canyon.
Before dinner, we will have a team briefing from the Tribal Tracks leader, who will tell us all that we need to know about the days that follow.
Accommodation and Meals
Overnight in Wadi Rum Desert Camp and dinner.
After an early breakfast, we transfer by open topped 4WD jeep to the start of our trek.
We begin our adventure at the Lawrence House, named after Lawrence of Arabia, who stayed there once, although the foundations of the house are much older, and are probably Nabatean, the ancient Arabian people who built Petra as their capital. We begin to trek, away from the house, over a sandy plain, edged with sheer, ochre red canyon walls, and dotted with stunning rock formations. We reach Um Fruth bridge, which is probably the last time we will see any other tourists until our final day. The bridge is a spectacular rock formation, with a narrow rock ledge spanning two larger points, about 20m above the ground. We will have lunch just past this point, before continuing our trek over the plain, and then descending through a narrow canyon. Before reaching our camp for the night, we will have a sandy climb up a moon rock canyon and will be rewarded with specular views across the vast Rum plains.
The sunsets at this camp are incredible, and will we aim to be in camp so that we can watch the sun go down, before a tasty and hearty dinner.
8-9 hours trekking, 21km, 335 m of ascent, 201 m of descent.
Accommodation and Meals
Overnight Sunset Camp - wild camping and full board.
We leave camp after breakfast and after an amazing sunrise where we can catch a glimpse of Jordan’s highest mountain, Um Ad Dami, sitting squarely on the Jordanian/Saudi border.
We head westwards, through a very different landscape where the rock formations are squatter and a much deeper red, verging almost on black. This provides a contrast with the sand beneath our feet and the blue sky above. After a hearty lunch and a chance to rest our legs, we set off towards our very special final camp where we are introduced to a new form of eating – Mansaf! Tonight, we can enjoy the magical setting of Candle Camp and share stories around the memorising campfire under the stunning desert night skies.
7 hours trekking, 16km, 180m of ascent, 200m of descent
Accommodation and Meals
Overnight Candle Camp - wild camping and full board
We start our journey north, towards the majestic canyons, surrounded by unbelievably vast, towering rocks.
As we head into the canyons, we will need to negotiate a steady and sandy climb, but it is short, and we are rewarded by wonderful views. We reach the end of our journey in the most spectacular of all the canyons in the Wadi Rum, Burrah Canyon, where we have a late lunch. If there is time, we will stop off at the rock carvings of Lawrence of Arabia’s face, carved there to commemorate his meeting of there with Arab leaders. There, there is the opportunity to buy some souvenirs and sample some Bedouin tea, before we continue to the jeeps. The jeeps will take us out of the Wadi Rum to meet our bus, where we say goodbye to our lovely desert crew and head for the bright lights of Aqaba.
Tonight we can let our hair down and celebrate our achievement with a celebration dinner.
5 hours trekking
Approx. 13 km, 100m of ascent, 200 m of descent
Accommodation and Meals
Overnight Aqaba 4* hotel, full board.
After breakfast, we will have the opportunity to explore the souks of Aqaba, followed by lunch in a local restaurant.
There may be time for a quick swim, then we say farewell to the rest of our Jordanian friends as we head to the airport for our late afternoon flight home to London Gatwick.
Accommodation and Meals
Breakfast, lunch.
Trip Details
Trip Details
This is what you will need to buy/source yourself.
It is important that you read the itinerary carefully, and take account of the rating we have given it.
Although our challenges are not technical, they do require a good degree of physical fitness. The conditions will require stamina and strength, which you should recognise and train for. This will be a much better experience if you are fit and prepared. You should feel comfortable walking 6-8 hours per day.
In setting the maximum size of our groups, we take a number of factors into account.
Altitude, degree of difficulty, the terrain, the climate and time of year, all determine the maximum group size. Sometimes it will be 20, sometimes it will be 8-14, but safety is always our priority.
You will be accompanied by a Tribal Tracks UK Leader, Mountain Leader qualified, as well as supported by our local, in-country guides.
It is a requirement of Tribal Tracks booking terms and conditions that each supporter must hold their own travel insurance, which covers the trip and the activities they are doing. Read more here.
We advise you to put insurance in place as soon as possible, ideally on booking so you are covered immediately. There have been instances where someone has signed up, broken their leg a few weeks later, and been deemed unfit to travel. If travel insurance were in place, the non-refundable deposit could be claimed back from the insurance policy. Without this, your money is lost.
Your insurance must be valid and in date, covering the entire period that you are travelling for, including the return journey home. It must cover medical and personal accident risks, and should include repatriation costs and air ambulance or helicopter rescue services, where appropriate.
We will need to know the travel insurance provider, your policy number and the 24 hour medical/emergency assistance number.
Tribal Tracks has 100% Financial Protection and has a trust account with the Protected Trust Service, member number 5566.
This means that all client monies paid to Tribal Tracks are held in our dedicated trust account, which is supervised by an independent trustee. This means that in the very unlikely event that Tribal Tracks ceases to trade, your money is safe. For more information, please visit this link. Any flights booked for you by Tribal Tracks will be ATOL-protected under our own ATOL certificate.
Tribal Tracks considers the safety of all of its participants and staff to be a top priority, and as such we have thorough safety systems in place.
In the event of an injury, we have an evacuation plan in place for all elements of the trek route. We do ask that you look after yourself during the trek in the following way, as this will help avoid unnecessary problems:
We know that the unexpected can happen.
While you are away, things can happen at home and people may need to get in contact with you. This can be tricky when you are in remote areas. So, shortly before departure, we provide you with an Emergency Procedure document to distribute to your nearest and dearest. This sets out how to contact Tribal Tracks and the steps Tribal Tracks will then take to get in contact with you.
It is really important that you are well prepared for your physical challenge and that you are confident that you will be able to fully participate.
Although our leaders are well trained to deal with different capabilities, if they have any concerns about someone’s ability to safely partake in the trek, or their impact on other people’s enjoyment, we authorise them to take necessary action which, in some circumstances, may involve asking someone to step out of the trek. Although this is a very rare occurrence, by booking this trip you agree to section 11 of our Booking Conditions which clearly states that our leaders have the authority to do this. In these circumstances, we will ensure anyone sitting out is safely provided for and offered alternative options where possible. Refunds will not be provided for activities missed and customers may be liable for additional costs incurred.
At Tribal Tracks, Responsible Travel is enormously important to us, and our commitment to responsible travel is evidenced in every itinerary that we prepare.
Core to our business is the belief that holidays can and should be enjoyable to the traveller but should be conducted in a socially, environmentally and economically responsible manner which brings benefit to local communities. This is implemented through a variety of measures which can be found in our Responsible Travel policy. We encourage you to read this and to play your own part in travelling responsibly.
Trip Details
Trip Details
The trek is a challenge. We will be walking for a long time over sometimes challenging terrain with steep ascents and descents.
The best way to build endurance fitness is to start with some gentle walks and gradually build up both the distance and duration over the next few months. In the last 2 months, we would recommend to go out and do long days, ideally in the hills, to build up the strength in your legs. About a week before the trek, limit any training to short walks – you want to have fresh legs at the start!
For the trek you should be comfortable trekking between 6 - 8 hours per day, but remember we have all day to achieve the distances and will not be going at racing snake pace. It may sound obvious, but make sure that you are walking properly, hitting the ground with your heel first, then rolling onto your toe, which pushes you onto the next step (this will help reduce the risk of shin splints and tendon pulls). Walk with your head up, eyes forward and shoulders level.
It is a good idea to develop a level of cardiovascular fitness (exercising and strengthening your heart and lungs). This comes from running, cycling or swimming for between 20 minutes and an hour, and will really help develop your endurance fitness. Three sessions a week is normally advised, increasing time and distance over time.
Replicate conditions in training i.e., use all the kit you will be using and try your walking poles if you want to use them.
It is important to pack so that you know where everything is. Here at Tribal Tracks, we are big fans of separating kit into different packing cubes (compression ones are great), or even just individual plastic bags can really help with this.
You can pack by item (e.g., socks and pants in one cube, tops in another, waterproofs in another etc.) or by day, putting your entire outfit for that day together in one place. We recommend taking an extra bag or cube to separate the dirty kit from your fresh clothes, too.
You will have two bags on the trip - your main bag and your back pack.
You should operate on the basis that you will not have access to your main bag during the day and while you are trekking. This means that it is important to have everything you need in your back pack. Waterproofs should go in the bottom, together with an extra layer, sunscreen and sunglasses, plus hat and gloves (if you are in a colder climate). You should also have your water bottles, and any specific snacks, medicines or first aid items you want to take, such as zinc tape and blister plasters. Baby wipes/toilet roll and nappy sacks are also essential for going to the toilet while you are trekking - we will explain more in the pre-departure briefing!
In the event of an injury, we have an evacuation plan in place for all elements of the trek route. We do ask that you look after yourself during the trek in the following way, as this will help avoid unnecessary problems:
We will brief you in the pre-departure briefing as to the catering specifically for your trip. However, as a guide, each morning you will be provided with a very filling local breakfast, usually accompanied by tea or coffee. Lunch will be during your trek and will be prepared by the team of cooks or we will utilise local restaurants or teahouses. Food will always be ample and tasty. If wild camping, dinner will be in the dining tent and will be traditional, freshly prepared food. If you are staying in a hotel or teahouse, dinner will be served there. Water, tea and coffee will be served and alcohol will usually not be available, although there will be some exceptions. We will provide 4 litres of drinking water per person per day. You will need to fill up 2 litres at breakfast and another 2 litres at lunchtime.
Please ensure that you have notified us before departure if you have any specific dietary requirements or allergies as we can cater for most things as long as we know about them!
You will sleep in shared tents (unless a single supplement has been requested). Mattresses are provided, which makes it much more comfortable! There will be a central dining tent available with rugs and lights where the group can get together in the evening, share stories and enjoy meals. There will also be an open fire wherever it is possible.
Sleeping bags are designed to work by trapping your body heat in the down surrounding you. If you wear lots of layers, your body heat will not escape as effectively, and you will be cold. Wearing a thin thermal layer is ideal. It does sound counterintuitive, but we promise that it works!
Putting your clothes for the next day in the bottom of your sleeping bag will also help with warmth, as it will fill up any spare space around your feet, and it will mean your clothes are nicely warmed up in the morning.
If you find it difficult to sleep without a pillow, we recommend taking a travel pillow and a regular pillowcase with you. Put your pillow in the pillow case, and use your down jacket/layers to fill out the pillowcase. You will end up with a pretty decent pillow!
And as for stuff or roll when it comes to packing your bag away? We are very much in the stuff camp! Read more here.
There will be early morning starts, typically around 0600 - 0700hrs, so that the team can set off on the trek in good time. It is important that you pack up your kit before breakfast and leave your bag outside your tent or accommodation so that the crew can load them onto the jeeps and/or mules. There will be a freshly cooked lunch provided on your trek route. The aim is to get into camp before sunset if possible, when you can enjoy a hot drink and snacks. It is important that you change into your thermals and put layers on when you get into camp as the temperatures can drop sharply and you need to keep warm.
In the morning, the Tribal Tracks leader will wake up the group. When you hear the call, please begin to get ready, and pack all your kit away in your 'main bag' before breakfast. Put this bag outside your tent or accommodation as the crew can then begin to break down the tents/load the luggage. Ensure that you have all that you need in your backpack for the day, as you will not have access to your main bag until the next camp (see 'What do I put in my backpack?).
When you arrive into camp, it is important to get changed into different clothes, usually the ones that you will be wearing the next day. Even if you have had dry weather, you will have been sweating, and your clothes will be damp. As the sun sets and the air cools, you will quickly feel cold. Before this, you will want to freshen up and we recommend the 'baby wipe bath'. As there are no showers while on the trek, having a freshen up with a baby wipe will help keep you clean and will make you feel much better, before you put your clean clothes on. Unpack your sleeping bag and get everything out that you need for nighttime, such as your warm hat, jacket, head torch and book. Sort out your back pack for the next day by removing rubbish and replenishing snacks etc.
Doing this before dinner will mean you can get into your sleeping bag quickly, when it is likely to feel cold.
There will be a toilet tent and water supplied for washing in the morning where we can. There are no shower facilities provided during the trek and there will be no toilets either, but there will be a toilet tent in camp in the evenings and mornings. In the pre-departure briefing, we will tell you all that you need to know about how to deal with this.
We recommend that you bring a multi-region adapter plug with you. There will be no facility to recharge electrical items on the trek, so we recommend you bring a power bank to top up the charge. We also recommend putting your phone on Airplane mode during the day to save on power.
Using your mobile overseas can sometimes attract unwelcome, very high tariffs. We recommend that you check with your network provider before you travel, but if in doubt, keep your phone switched to Airplane mode and use it only when there is WiFi. Reception can also be patchy, and unreliable, particularly in remote areas, which is why we carry a satellite phone with us. Please let your nearest and dearest know about this, and warn them that you may not be able to be in regular contact.
We ask that your luggage is kept to the absolute minimum. We will tell you the weights that you should not exceed, but usually (depending on the airline), your main bag should not exceed 23kgs in weight.
It is important that you wear your trekking boots or take them in your hand luggage on the flight, as they are vital for the trek and cannot be replaced if your luggage is lost.
We recommend leaving behind items such as high-value jewelry, watches, etc. Your passport and money should always be kept on your person.
Trip Details
It is possible to extend your stay, either to relax in Aqaba, or to visit Petra, one of the seven wonders of the world. Please just let us know and we can tailor the trip to your requirements.
Have a question? Get in touch, our small team will be delighted to help.
