Wadi Rum

Wadi Rum – The Valley of the Moon

T.E. Lawrence once described the moon-like terrain of Wadi Rum as “vast, echoing and God-like.” This is by no means an overstatement. With its bright red rolling sand dunes, dramatic rock formations, canyons, and natural rock bridges, Wadi Rum is a place like no other. In spring, the hills begin to turn green and fill with magnificent wildflowers, such as red anemones and Jordan’s national flower, the stunning Black Iris. Take a glance, though—flowers can bloom and fade almost overnight in this desert climate.

Wadi Rum has always been more a passageway than a place to settle. You won’t find large-scale archaeological sites here. However, passersby left behind wonderful pictoglyphs and inscriptions to mark their routes, and more than 1,000 rock art inscriptions remain scattered along the ancient trade routes.

Nomadic Bedouin tribes have made Wadi Rum their home—once in service of the spice caravans, and now catering to the many visitors who come to enjoy this famous desert. Today, almost no extended families continue a fully traditional nomadic life in the iconic black tents. Most families, especially those with children, have settled in villages on the fringes of Rum or beside the Turkish fortress beneath Jabal Rum. You will still find “empty-nesters” who have returned from village life to the tents where they feel most at home, and when school is not in session, village populations happily return to their desert dwellings.

Wadi Rum is an ideal destination for those seeking complete escape from the noise and lights of modern living. There are even places where cell phones—those weeds of Jordan’s landscape—fall silent. With no city lights to interfere, the desert night sky is breathtaking. On most nights, you will see several shooting stars, and if you visit in early August during the annual Perseids meteor shower, the sky resembles a grand fireworks display.

For more information about excursions to and through Wadi Rum, please visit our Adventure Tours page.