Little Petra to Petra

Our final day of hiking takes us into Petra proper. Following sandy tracks and a few camels down Wadi Ghurab, we pass the stone age village of Al-Beidha. Wherever we look now there are signs we are entering the heart of the ancient city. Following an old trading route, we arrive through the rarely used ‘Back Door’, but I still expect our reverie of solitude to be broken.

Unlike the tourist-congested main entrance, the back is completely empty. There are no gates, and only a small ticket office. After walking through wilderness and empty desert landscape, I approach our transition to rose-hued World Heritage territory with nervous anticipation. There is always the fear that that such a monumental site will not live up to the hype.

Skirting round the final mountain on a natural rock terrace, with vibrant red and pink-coloured cliffs tower above us like a melting sunset, the inevitable crowds begin to appear. Guides race past on donkeys to collect more tourists whilst yelling "no brakes" with perfect comic timing. Just beyond, we round a sharp bend and Ad Deir, or the Monastery, Petra’s largest monument, appears in front of us like a mirage. This unfathomable 147-foot-tall façade chiseled into the mountainside is all the more remarkable when we learn that it dates back to the first century BC.

Descending an easy, downhill route past canyons and sun-baked plains, we see the first signs of Petra’s mass tourism, something that had eluded us for the past four days. There is a real sense of pilgrimage entering Petra on foot. Petra is a marvel and the views and scenery you take in when getting here on foot are worth the blisters and sunburn. Wearily we continue along the ancient Colonnaded Street through the centre of the Ancient City. Too tired to explore, we simply exit past ‘The Treasury’ and though the famous ‘Siq’. Petra’s masterpiece can wait.

Despite a hot shower beckoning, it would almost be a crime to miss the oldest bar in the world. Occupying a 2000-year-old Nabataean rock tomb, the historic Cave Bar is where we choose to celebrate the end of our journey with a cold beer and some freshly cooked pub grub.

Distance: 19.37 km

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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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Wadi Barwas to Ras Al-Feid

We set off in the morning across rock-strewn steppe, studded with acacia trees and spiky shrubs, towards the seemingly impenetrable barrier of the Shara Mountains, the sun casting highlights over their serrated peaks. In the distance, we see an old graded donkey starting more steeply up the hillside, gradually we ascend the gentle slope, popping in and out of Wadi Barwas, Wadi abu Hamdtha and Wadi al-Jilf to reach the base of the first major climb of our hike along the Jordan Trail.

As it turns out, these mountains are penetrable after all, but we simply cannot find the trail that seemed so clear as we left our camp. After much searching and deliberating, we simply climb up a loose rock ridge through the jagged rocky mountain outcroppings Eventually, our climb joins the trail and we take a break to see the expansive view of Wadi Araba’s wash to the west below. This stunning spectacle of the Rift Valley is our reward for two hours spent scaling the steep mountainside.

The climb is not over though, as we continue along the path up a wide slot following the old bedouin route along well graded switchbacks. The slot widens to the top where you reach the saddle called Ras Naqb Shdeid, offering breathtaking views to the East and West.

For the first time today, we descend - steeply - to the spring-fed Wadi Feid below. Fringed with pink oleander with the magical sound of cascading water in this desiccated landscape, the wadi is a chance for us to rest, replenish our dwindling water supplies and bathe. Reluctantly leaving our idyllic spot, we retrace your steps back and follow Wadi Feid (Wadi of the Floods) upstream under cliffs of bronze splashed with juicy green, dense with vegetation and enormous dragonflies. 

After a hot and weary twelve kilometers of walking, we arrive at our campsite for the night where we find an unoccupied bell tent already pitched. With no camp to build, we watch the sun dip behind the mountain peaks. Exhausted, we slip off early to the tent. With the almost biblical sound of donkeys braying in the distance, sleep came quickly.

Distance: 12.38 km

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Feynan Ecolodge to Wadi Barwas

We leave Feynan Eco Lodge during Bedouin rush hour. Here, we have swapped the honking horns and revving engines of cars, buses and motorbikes for the much more pleasant bleating and braying of goats and donkeys. Beyond the buzzing vibrancy of the canyon lies Wadi Feynan, once the heart of an ancient copper-mining operations. As the valley opens out further, we pass some Roman ruins en route to the Wadi Malaga campsite.

At the base of the mountains, near Wadi Malaga, we take a break in the shade of a large acacia tree. During our downtime, we meet two cheeky kids and their large flock of goats. Despite the language barrier, they make it clear that we cannot take photos of them. Respectfully, we put our cameras away. After exchanging limited pleasantries and sharing our sweets with them, they wander off. As they do, we catch the cheeky little buggers filming us! :D

With the rising mountains to the East, we gradually ascend the gentle slope to head south on a mixture of 4×4 tracks and footpaths. We pass on the eastern side of smaller hills Jabal al-Hamra, Jabal Mahzaf and eventually set up camp on the edge of Wadi Barwas, tucked behind Jabal Feid. With no light pollution in the clear desert sky, the setting of the sun dictates our bedtime.

Distance: 13.26 km

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Dana to Feynan Ecolodge

A three-hour drive along the Desert Highway gives us time to finish any last minute jobs for our trek to the Rose City of Petra, some 60km of tough, hilly walking southwards. Our starting point is the 15th-century stone village of Dana situated precariously on the edge of a large gorge. From our vantage point, we begin to appreciate the diversity of the Jordanian landscape and the challenge that lies ahead...

We leave the village and descend into the Dana Biosphere Reserve’s central valley. Lonely cypress trees give way to Martian-like rock formations. Wadi Dana then becomes to a bone-dry river beds lined with palms. In the shelter of the wadi, we meet several Bedouin families herding their goats back to their camps. As the valley opens out into the rust-hued desert, we eventually arrive at the award winning Feynan Eco Lodge. Our last taste of comfort, before heading out into the wild.

Distance: 14.66 km

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