Unforgettable Day in the Wadi Rum Desert

Written by Freja, the visitor from Denmark

My Trip to Jordan

It was February in 2023 when I was travelling in Jordan. I went there for the reason of diving into the Arabian culture, tasting some local foods I had seen on YouTube, and of course, seeing the desert. After spending some time in Amman, Petra, and Aqaba, it was time to go and experience the real desert! That's why I went to Wadi Rum. I booked the trip with Salem and planned to spend one day in Wadi Rum. I'm glad I did it!

It was a sunny day, not too hot because it was early spring or winter there. But what's winter in the desert? That's like summer for me as a Scandinavian person! So, I was pleased to enjoy the sunshine and warm, mild weather for the whole day.

The view from the Jeep window during my tour

The Jeep Safari in the Wadi Rum Desert

My tour started from Wadi Rum village, where Salem picked me up with his Jeep. The village is in the heart of the canyon, between huge mountains, and the desert started right away from the village. For me, the size of the desert and everything there was unbelievable. In my home country, Denmark, I can never see such wide wild areas as what I experienced in Wadi Rum.

The first point we stopped in the desert was something I wasn't expecting on my trip; we spent a while with a local Bedouin family who were living in the desert in a traditional Bedouin tent. I was introduced to the family's kids, the sheep and goats they were pasturing on the rocks, and I was welcomed into their tent. Thank you, Salem! I was expecting a general desert safari but got so much more when meeting the Bedouin family living in the heart of the desert!

Sheep and goats pastured by Bedouins in the Wadi Rum desert

After driving for a while, we stopped many times, and I saw several places I had seen in travel guides and on the internet before my trip to Jordan. I saw the mushroom rock – as expected – and climbed the big bridge and other rock formations there. The big red sand dune was huge. I felt it took forever to get to the top! But finally, it was rewarding; the views from the top of that dune were stunning, and I got many great pics from there!

But not only the spots we stopped at, but a more breathtaking experience for me was also driving in the desert. I have to say that Salem is a good driver; we went through so many difficult places with so much sand that I was sure we would stay there... but we never got stuck in the sand! The views of the desert during the drive were stunning, and I felt that I couldn't get enough of it.

The Silence

During the tour, we stayed longer – because I wished so – in a peaceful place, which was some kind of mountaintop, and from where the desert below seemed endless and continued to the horizon. I believe that, in that beautiful place, the nearest people were more than 10 kilometres away from us! It was a perfect place for meditation and just enjoying the silence.

I felt I experienced real silence for the first time in my life. I couldn't hear any voices or noises coming from humans or their vehicles. Just the whistling of the wind, the call of a raven from afar, and the sound of my own footsteps reached my ears. For me, that experience was unreal. I haven't felt like that anywhere else.

View to the canyon from the stunning mountaintop

So Happy I Did It

In summary, I am so glad I went to Wadi Rum and not elsewhere. I had, of course, seen movies like Dune and Lawrence of Arabia, so I believed I knew what to expect in Wadi Rum... But the reality was so much more and so wonderful that there are no words to explain it. You must see the desert if you want to understand it.

Thank you, Salem, for all your guidance, for answering all my questions, and for helping me when I forgot my phone on the rocks. I hope I will visit Wadi Rum and see you there again!

- Freja, from Denmark