Ras Al-Feid to Little Petra

Another early rise as today is our longest day of hiking. With no tent to pack away, we are on the move in no time. After a few false starts, we find our way out of the wadi and begin to climb the rocky sandstone ridge line. Our walk unfurls ahead of us: ochre hillsides stippled with juniper where camels roam free. Once through the windy col, the high point of the day, our path drops down to a wide ledge that follows one of the many layers of rock that form the contours of these sandstone mountains.

Walking through this ancient landscape of semi-nomadic Bedouin encampments, goats nibbling at sparse greenery and signs of Nabatean civilisation scattered all around, you sense the long, enduring history of this land. Descending the last slopes, we walk on tracks through sparse barley fields, a reminder that here is the southernmost tip of the Fertile Crescent.

Bedouin goat-hair tents continue to decorate the Jordanian hillsides as they have done for millennia. As we pass them by, we are greeted with friendly waves and the occasional snarling dog. One kind couple invite us in for tea and a chat, where our eyes are opened to the lifestyle of the modern day Bedouin people.

Approaching Little Petra there are signs of increasing human habitation of sheep pens and small agricultural plots. A short, sharp scramble up the side of a wadi takes us into Little Petra. Lined with rock-cut façades, this is where traders on the Spice and Silk Roads would rest their camels and pay the taxes that made Petra rich. From here we stumble to our desert camp, the hillside beyond decorated with lanterns, where I sink gratefully into my comfortable bed.

Distance: 31.04 km

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