Wadi Rum is one of those places that immediately makes you wonder how nature created a landscape like this. Located in southern Jordan, not far from Petra, it is a huge desert surrounded by dramatic sandstone mountains, rock formations and endless open spaces. The combination of red sand, massive cliffs and almost complete emptiness makes you feel like you have somehow landed on another planet.
But Wadi Rum is much more than just beautiful desert scenery. It is a place to explore slowly, whether hiking between the rocks or crossing the desert by 4×4, while also experiencing the Bedouin culture that has been part of this landscape for generations
Everywhere you look, the scale is incredible. You can walk for a while, turn around, and suddenly find another completely different view. Definitely one of those places where it is very difficult to stop taking pictures! 😉
A landscape made for movies
It is not surprising that Wadi Rum has been used as the background for so many movies. The most famous is probably Lawrence of Arabia, although I have to admit I had never watched it! During the trip, Lawrence kept coming up in conversations, first with one of my travelmates and later with our guide. We even visited the place known as Lawrence’s House.
By the end of the trip, I was curious enough that once I got home, I watched several videos about T. E. Lawrence, his role in the Arab Revolt and how closely he lived and worked with the Arab people. I am still very far from being an expert, but once again, traveling made me learn about something I probably would never have explored otherwise. His experiences were later described in his book Seven Pillars of Wisdom
Hollywood certainly found its own inspiration here. Wadi Rum has represented Mars in The Martian, Arrakis in Dune, and other planets in Star Wars. Even Disney’s Aladdin filmed some of its desert scenes here. After being there, I completely understand why. The red sand, huge mountains and endless empty spaces can easily make you forget that you are still on Earth.
Hiking in Wadi Rum
We started early in the morning to avoid the worst of the heat — as much as that is possible in Jordan in July! We spent around four hours hiking through Wadi Rum, sometimes following narrow canyons before suddenly coming out into huge open valleys. The landscape kept changing along the way, from different colors of sand to massive rock formations and mountains surrounding us.
The hardest part was definitely climbing one of the sand dunes. I have absolutely no idea how high it was, but walking uphill on soft sand under the desert sun made it feel VERY high! 😉 Getting to the top was exhausting, but of course the views made the effort completely worth it.
Camels: part of the scenery
Along the way, we also spotted camels wandering through the desert and stopped to see ancient inscriptions carved into the rocks, including images of camels left by the Nabataeans. Little reminders that people have been crossing and living in this landscape for thousands of years.
Another one for my personal “animal crossing” collection! 😉 Not exactly a road this time, but a group of camels crossing our hiking path in the middle of Wadi Rum definitely counts.
By the time we returned for lunch, the temperature had become seriously hot and hiking for the day was officially over… although apparently nobody told me, because I still spent some of that time walking around and taking pictures. 😉
Exploring Wadi Rum by 4×4
After all that hiking, exploring Wadi Rum by 4×4 sounded like the more relaxing part of the experience. Well… not exactly! 😉
But first, a little taste of what exploring Wadi Rum from the back of a 4×4 actually looked like 360 style!
The 4×4 allowed us to cover much greater distances across the desert, but every stop seemed to involve getting out, walking somewhere, climbing a rock formation or hiking through another canyon.
The stops were definitely worth the effort. We visited some of the landscapes used in movies like Aladdin and The Martian, climbed incredible natural rock bridges and walked through a very narrow canyon surrounded by huge sandstone walls.
One of my Insta360 photos — the best views were always the reward after a good climb! 😉
Khazali Canyon & The Face
One of our stops was Khazali Canyon, a narrow opening cutting deep into the mountain. Inside, the walls contain ancient inscriptions and rock carvings, including animals, human figures and one rather unexpected scene of a woman giving birth
And the mountain had one more surprise. Walking back out of the canyon and looking to the side, the rock suddenly revealed a huge human profile. Our guide pointed out “The Face” — and once you see the nose, lips and chin, it is impossible to unsee it! 😉
A quick video walking in the canyon!
By the last few stops, the day was definitely starting to show on all of us. Not everyone was joining every climb anymore, and I completely understood why! After the morning hike, the heat and then all the climbing during the 4×4 tour, it had become a seriously active day.
One Last Stop: Sunset
We finished by watching the sunset from the desert before driving back to camp for dinner. Completely exhausted, covered in sand and very happy — exactly how a day in Wadi Rum should end
Dinner Under the Sand
The first evening also came with a very special dinner. The Bedouins prepared zarb, a traditional way of cooking meat and vegetables under the ground. Hot coals are placed inside a hole in the sand, then the food is put inside on metal trays, covered and buried with sand. Everything cooks slowly underground for several hours
Our Bedouin hosts uncovering our dinner after several hours of slow cooking under the sand. The best part of the whole process!
I missed the preparation part, so at first I honestly had no idea how our dinner was actually cooking under all that sand! But I was there for the best part: watching them remove the sand and slowly pull out the trays full of meat and vegetables. After a long day in the desert, seeing our dinner literally coming out of the ground was quite an experience. 😉
Sleeping in the Desert
We spent two nights in a traditional Bedouin camp in Wadi Rum, which gave us the chance to experience the desert beyond just exploring it during the day. The accommodation was simple, with traditional-style tents rather than the more luxurious bubble camps you can also find around Wadi Rum — but for me, that was exactly the experience I wanted
The camps in Wadi Rum are spread across a huge area, and from our location we could not see any other accommodation around us. During the hikes and 4×4 tour we passed a few other camps, but the desert is so enormous that it is surprisingly easy to feel completely on your own.
We had our tents for the night, but apparently sleeping inside was not adventurous enough for me 😉 I decided to take my mattress outside and sleep directly under the stars instead. No fancy bubble tent or panoramic window needed — just a mattress, the open desert and the night sky above me!
There is something very special about waking up in the middle of the night, opening your eyes and immediately seeing the stars. Such a simple experience, but definitely one of my favorite memories from Wadi Rum
Worth the adventure
Wadi Rum was one of those places where simply being there was already an experience. Hiking through the desert, climbing dunes and rock formations, exploring by 4×4, watching the sunset and eventually sleeping outside under the stars… there was very little time to simply sit and do nothing! 😉
I arrived expecting beautiful desert landscapes, but I think what made Wadi Rum special was actually experiencing the desert in so many different ways. Exhausting at times, especially in the July heat, but absolutely worth it. Another incredible memory from Jordan — and yes, for a couple of days it really did feel like being on another planet.
.
