The sun pierced through the hat as drops of sweat formed on my
forehead. The dry arid atmosphere was making me thirsty, so i stopped to take a
swig of my water bottle. As I quenched
my thirst, i turned around to check out the landscape behind. The wide
expanse of Wadi Araba with its rocky desert golden hue greeted me. Warm
happiness flowed through, as I smiled to myself taking in the view. Jordan had
always been on my bucket list with Petra, Wadi Rum and Dead Sea on my places to
visit in Jordan. But this was something else! This was even better. A secret
way to Petra, the ancient 1st century BC Nabatean city ! We were 3 days into
our 90 km trek, a group of 8 with Americans, Scottish, English and an Indian in the mix. Jordan's Dana to Petra trek has been described as the 'Inca Trail of the Middle East' and has been
voted as one of the best hikes in the world by National Geographic and it was
certainly living up to the billing.
We had started our hike
at Dana Biosphere Reserve, which is protected by the Royal Society for the
Protection of Nature and is the largest reserve in the Hashemite Kingdom. As we moved down the valley, the landscape
changed while walking along the edge of
the Great Rift valley which stretches from Middle East to Africa up to
Mozambique. Crossing Wadi Feinan, we came across the ancient Roman copper mines
said to be from the times of King Solomon. Water and the proximity of
water is the most important factor in
this arid region. Our guide explained to us an ancient water ducts and the
waterways through the canyons feeding into the desert. It was pretty
astonishing how the 1000 year old water ways were feeding into ducts through
the valley eons ago.
We had not seen anyone else other than the occasional Bedouin shepherd grazing his goat herds in the scant pastures that they could find. A Bedouin shepherd was kind enough to invite us into his tent and offer us salted tea with goat milk. All the while, answering our curious questions with
our guide acting as the translator giving us a delightful insight into the daily local life.
I had thoroughly enjoyed
the past few days. Stunning views, delicious local meals and an interesting
group had made this trip pretty amazing already. I put back my water bottle
into my backpack and got ready for a 700m ascent into the high mountains with
raw landscape of limestone and granite. We could just about make out the Israel territory in
the horizon, through the haze, as we followed a shepherd's trail on a ridge
dotted with wild thyme and poppies. Though the wadis were inhabited by jackals,
wildcats, caracal and striped hyenas, our group was always on the lookout
for the Sinai Agama, an electric blue
colored lizard.
On the 6th day, we
scrambled into Little Petra or Siq al- Barid - 'The cold gorge'. Cool air
greeted us as we walked into the canyon and you could not but admire the
ingenuity of the Nabatean architecture. This ancient caravan stop is often
overlooked by visitors but a testament to the immenseness of the Nabatean
empire which extended from Damascus to Saudi Arabia.
The next day, with a hot
sun on our back, we lumbered into Petra. And what an entrance it was! Crossing the
rocky ledges we caught sight of a huge carved red sandstone. Taking a few more
steps, and we could finally see the 33ft tall urn of 'Al Dier' better known as 'The Monastery' emerging from the skyline.
The magnitude of the city was overwhelming which had till recently
housed almost 30,000 people. We walked
down the 'Red rose city', eating lunch at the Royal tombs and the steep hike up
to the High Place of Sacrifice for a magnificent view of the whole city.
Nearing the end of our
trek, we walked towards the Treasury ' Al- Khazneh', made famous by the Indiana Jones movie franchise. Exiting through the stunningly beautiful kilometer long
Siq , we made it out of the wilderness and walked back into civilization.
Tired, sun burnt and longing for a hot shower, i could not help but reminisce how
a week in the rugged wilderness of the Kingdom of
Jordan is a far more satisfying holiday than taking a taxi to the parking lot of the city, making this week long trek unique. We got into our taxis waiting to
take us to our hotel and promised myself that i would return to Jordan soon. 'Yallah!'
Click here for more details. Watch video below.
We had started our hike at Dana Biosphere Reserve, which is protected by the Royal Society for the Protection of Nature and is the largest reserve in the Hashemite Kingdom. As we moved down the valley, the landscape changed while walking along the edge of the Great Rift valley which stretches from Middle East to Africa up to Mozambique. Crossing Wadi Feinan, we came across the ancient Roman copper mines said to be from the times of King Solomon. Water and the proximity of water is the most important factor in this arid region. Our guide explained to us an ancient water ducts and the waterways through the canyons feeding into the desert. It was pretty astonishing how the 1000 year old water ways were feeding into ducts through the valley eons ago.
We had not seen anyone else other than the occasional Bedouin shepherd grazing his goat herds in the scant pastures that they could find. A Bedouin shepherd was kind enough to invite us into his tent and offer us salted tea with goat milk. All the while, answering our curious questions with our guide acting as the translator giving us a delightful insight into the daily local life.
I had thoroughly enjoyed the past few days. Stunning views, delicious local meals and an interesting group had made this trip pretty amazing already. I put back my water bottle into my backpack and got ready for a 700m ascent into the high mountains with raw landscape of limestone and granite. We could just about make out the Israel territory in the horizon, through the haze, as we followed a shepherd's trail on a ridge dotted with wild thyme and poppies. Though the wadis were inhabited by jackals, wildcats, caracal and striped hyenas, our group was always on the lookout for the Sinai Agama, an electric blue colored lizard.
On the 6th day, we
scrambled into Little Petra or Siq al- Barid - 'The cold gorge'. Cool air
greeted us as we walked into the canyon and you could not but admire the
ingenuity of the Nabatean architecture. This ancient caravan stop is often
overlooked by visitors but a testament to the immenseness of the Nabatean
empire which extended from Damascus to Saudi Arabia.
The next day, with a hot
sun on our back, we lumbered into Petra. And what an entrance it was! Crossing the
rocky ledges we caught sight of a huge carved red sandstone. Taking a few more
steps, and we could finally see the 33ft tall urn of 'Al Dier' better known as 'The Monastery' emerging from the skyline.
The magnitude of the city was overwhelming which had till recently
housed almost 30,000 people. We walked
down the 'Red rose city', eating lunch at the Royal tombs and the steep hike up
to the High Place of Sacrifice for a magnificent view of the whole city.
Nearing the end of our
trek, we walked towards the Treasury ' Al- Khazneh', made famous by the Indiana Jones movie franchise. Exiting through the stunningly beautiful kilometer long
Siq , we made it out of the wilderness and walked back into civilization.
Tired, sun burnt and longing for a hot shower, i could not help but reminisce how
a week in the rugged wilderness of the Kingdom of
Jordan is a far more satisfying holiday than taking a taxi to the parking lot of the city, making this week long trek unique. We got into our taxis waiting to
take us to our hotel and promised myself that i would return to Jordan soon. 'Yallah!'
Click here for more details. Watch video below.
