3 Days 4x4 Desert Expedition

This canyon lies in Jebel Khazali, a stunning mountain with imposing sheer cliffs that seem to sprout from the desert sands to more than the height of the Empire State Building. This cave-like canyon has been moulded by the elements over millennia and provides excellent air and shelter tucked away between massive monolithic rocks. You can easily imagine how it would have looked with Bedouin tents, families resting, drinking tea, and children playing. You will also find numerous Nabatean, Islamic (Kufic), and Thamudic inscriptions and petroglyph rock drawings on the canyon walls dating back thousands of years.

The red dunes nearby are great fun to scramble around, although climbing up is tough. You will, however, be rewarded with a stunning view of the varying colours of the sand. Afterwards, you can run (or roll) down the slope - whichever way you prefer to descend!

We continue on to a beautiful rock bridge. This is another chance to climb one of these stunning and entirely natural rock formations. Climbing is at your own risk (some parts can be pretty steep) but as it is sandstone, most people don't have any problems and greatly enjoy the experience. This is a beautiful photo opportunity, with the natural stone bridge lying in front of a vast expanse of desert as far as the eye can see, and you, standing aloft, arms spread as wide as your smile.

We will visit the Anfashieh inscriptions only a little further, which are at least 2000 years old. These ancient rock drawings depict camel riders and huntsmen. Another ancient sight is Lawrence's House, which is an old Nabatean temple. In contrast to Petra, however, this temple was built with bricks, not hewn out of the rock. This is a very remote location and - except during low season - you can glimpse the loneliness of the deep desert. You will have an opportunity here to try rock climbing and take in an unforgettable view of the vast desert before you.

We will then have a break for a picnic, including Bedouin tea and refreshments, and some traditional Bedouin cuisine, with options for vegetarians and vegans. The picnic will be in the shade, with a cool breeze and a picturesque view, where you can rest, relax and prepare yourself for the following stages of your tour.

Our next stop is the famous Wadi Rum mushroom stone. This is a bizarre and unique rock formation that seems to defy logic. Over the centuries, this completely natural formation was formed by the soft rock at the bottom being eroded by the elements much faster than the hard rock on top, resulting in an almost comical mushroom-shaped stone. This large formation is a firm guest favourite and provides a great photo opportunity.

Next on your itinerary is the spectacular rock bridge at Burdah. This unique geological structure is situated at the top of a large mountain, so, unfortunately, we will not get a close-up view as the climb takes a few hours. However, the view from the foot of the mountain is still striking and provides one of the most iconic views in all of Wadi Rum. Don't worry; we have another fantastic rock bridge yet to visit.

The next part of the tour will allow you to stretch your legs as you stroll through a magnificent canyon. The walls on either side reach improbable heights, while the sandy floor and occasional vegetation make for a pleasant amble through the cooling shade. The jeep will leave you at the entrance to the canyon and pick you up when you emerge on the other side about half an hour later.

For many visitors, the tour's high point, both literally and figuratively, is the Umm Fruth rock bridge. This stunning rock bridge is 15m (50ft) above the ground, and if you are brave enough to scramble up, it will provide you with the best photo opportunity of the day. If you don't like heights, then you can be the designated photographer capturing an unforgettable memory for those on top of the bridge. A Bedouin tent shop is nearby where you can take refreshments or even peruse the local handicrafts on sale.

After another short drive, we reach the camp, where you can do as you choose - maybe climb the surrounding rocks and watch the camels wander by or walk through a nearby valley. As the camp is located on the edge of the wilderness zone, this is an excellent opportunity to stroll in the almost untouched desert landscape. The area around the camp is also one of the major sunset viewing points in Wadi Rum, and you can enjoy this over a glass of hot sage tea.

It is time to get off the beaten track and discover the authenticity of our desert away from the tourist attractions. We'll take you to unique isolated spots deep in the desert near Saudi Arabia.

We will begin with a drive through the Al Kashkasheh valley, surrounded by mountains. At the end of the valley, we will reach a high spot with fantastic views. You will see Um Sabatah and the surrounding area where the red and white desert meet.

We then drive past Um Mugur to reach Wadi Nuqra. After a 15-minute hike through the dunes, you will get a fantastic view of Al Qatar mountain. Afterwards, you will explore a colourful canyon for 1 hour to meet some nomadic Bedouin families and their camels.

After many opportunities at unique spots to take in the scenes of the desert, we will break for lunch. We will retreat from the heat to a nice shady spot where lunch will be prepared fresh and served hot. After lunch, you will rest and enjoy our traditional Bedouin tea while sharing stories of the land and people.

Once rested, we continued to Wadi Sabet, a long valley near the Saudi border—the area, total of shrubs, blooms into a beautiful display of flowers in springtime. Nomadic Bedouins and their camels come to enjoy this place year-round. This area also offers a view of Um Ad Dami, the highest mountain in Jordan.

We drive you to Al Daghdagh’s canyon. At the canyon's end, you will quickly climb to arrive at an open view of the desert from the top of the mountain.

To finish the day, as we drive through the red and white desert, we will show you where the Bedouins collected and saved water.

Having eaten a traditional dinner in time-honoured Bedouin style, you can experience the desert at night. Around the time of the full moon, you can see all the surroundings painted in surreal colours, and the moon shines brightly enough to walk around the camp without a flashlight (it's even bright enough to cast a Moonshadow!). If there is no moon, and without all light pollution, the starry night sky is filled with myriad stars, sparkling constellations, the Milky Way, and often dozens of shooting stars. Some nights, you can listen to traditional Bedouin music, and (temperature permitting) you can even take a mattress and blanket and sleep outside amidst nothing but rolling sands, silence, and the stars above.

Once you've settled in at the camp for the evening, we will invite you to sit in our traditional Bedouin dinner tent. During the winter months, you can cosy up next to a wood fire, and in the summer, we'll keep the windows open so you can enjoy a cooling breeze. Before serving you dinner, we invite you to join us while we remove a multi-layered stand containing vegetables and meat under the desert sand. This is called Zarab and is a traditional Bedouin roast.

If you are an early riser the following day, you can watch a glorious sunrise from one of the prime vantage points near the camp. The colours of the dawn are breathtaking as the sun rises from behind the mountains.

Then, you will be treated to a hearty breakfast before we take you to town for the morning bus or to your next port of call.

Um Ghatha is a breathtakingly beautiful area with a panoramic view of the desert with white mountains. This is one of the lesser-visited regions of the desert and will give you a one-of-a-kind, unique experience that only some others will ever experience.