Dreaming of the desert? You drive through endless stretches of sand and rock, with only tiny green plants clinging to life and perhaps a camel in the distance. You climb a dune and look out across a landscape that was once home to nomadic people but is now a huge tourist attraction. When darkness falls, you sit by the fire and listen to the silence. Total silence. Millions of stars above you, and just you and the earth.
That’s the desert dream.
I’m pretty sure it’s not just my dream, but one shared by many travellers. You should probably have at least one desert on your bucket list. There’s a reason people who grew up in the desert often tell me they could never imagine living anywhere else.
So, what’s it actually like to spend a night in Wadi Rum, Jordan?
Sleeping Under the Stars in Wadi RumFind out what's it like to spend a night in Wadi Rum:
THE VALLEY OF THE MOON
First, some background.
Wadi Rum is also known as the Valley of the Moon, and you understand why as soon as you see it. It is desolate, dry and incredibly beautiful, with vast stretches of sand, dramatic cliffs, gorges and caverns.
No wonder it has been used as a film location for movies including Lawrence of Arabia, Red Planet and Transformers.
People have lived in Wadi Rum for around 12,000 years. Our driver, Mohammed, had grown up here before moving to the tiny village of Rum, where he now made a living driving tourists around.
Today, Wadi Rum is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, recognized for both its natural and cultural significance. The landscape attracts huge numbers of visitors, although when we visited in 2011, it still felt relatively quiet.
And while the desert may look empty, it certainly isn’t. The archaeological remains and thousands of rock carvings and inscriptions tell the story of thousands of years of human occupation.
GETTING TO WADI RUM
Getting to Wadi Rum is easy enough. We hired a driver – Mohammed, whom we had just met on the street – to take us on a two-day round trip from Aqaba to Petra and Wadi Rum. You can read about our visit to Petra here.
We had originally wanted to go backpacking, but plane tickets were surprisingly expensive and involved several layovers back then. It was actually cheaper to book a package holiday and stay at the rather luxurious Mövenpick Resort & Residences in Aqaba – even though we were going to spend one night sleeping in the desert.
Today, I would probably head for Amman instead.
When we reached Wadi Rum, we hired another private driver as our guide at the visitor centre. You can find information about the Wadi Rum Visitor Centre here.
Our guide, also called Mohammed, told us that he lived in the small village of Wadi Rum and that his family were originally Bedouins who had lived in the desert. They were now, as he put it, part-time Bedouins, making a living from tourism. But he had no desire to move to a bigger city.
Before heading into the desert, make sure you stock up on water and snacks.
My son got a free falafel, and in general, everyone was so nice to him. You can even see our driver holding his hand.
Thanks, Jordan!
Mohammed’s car was a little battered, but he was very good at driving over the dunes and finding his way around the desert, so…
Off we went.
WHAT TO SEE & DO
IN WADI RUM
Lawrence's Spring
Our first stop was Lawrence’s Spring, not far into the desert. Apparently, it is the first stop for just about everyone, because this was where we encountered the most other tourists.
The spring is associated with T. E. Lawrence – better known as Lawrence of Arabia – who is said to have washed here during the Arab Revolt of 1916–1918 against the Ottoman Empire.
The revolt eventually reached Aqaba in a surprise attack, and the town was captured.
There is also a place known as the Seven Pillars of Wisdom, named after Lawrence’s famous autobiographical book of the same name.
There is, however, something slightly odd about how Wadi Rum’s history is often presented. There tends to be a lot of attention on the British Lawrence and his role in the Arab Revolt, while the Arabs who actually lived here and fought in the revolt can receive much less attention.
For me, the much older human history of Wadi Rum is at least as interesting.
Inscriptions & Rock Art
Make sure you have a guide if you want to find the inscriptions and archaeological remains. The desert is huge, and you certainly won’t stumble across everything by yourself.
Wadi Rum contains evidence of around 12,000 years of human occupation. Thousands of rock carvings and inscriptions document the people who lived, travelled and traded here over the centuries, offering a fascinating glimpse into the development of human communication and the early history of the alphabet.
This is one of the things I find most fascinating about Wadi Rum: beneath all the tourism, the desert is essentially a huge archaeological landscape.
Climbing the dunes
With a five-year-old along, there was never any doubt about what the highlight of the day would be.
Climbing.
And climbing.
And sliding back down again.
Five years later, when we visited the Sahara, he wasn’t nearly as enthusiastic about climbing sand dunes. Apparently, the novelty had worn off.
Lunch in the desert
At some point, you have to stop for lunch. While eating your lunch with sand in it, you can sit back and watch the landscape change around you as you slowly make your way towards the camp.
And this is where Wadi Rum really surprised me.
The desert isn't boring
You might think a desert would become repetitive.
It doesn’t.
Wadi Rum has an incredible variety of colours and textures. The combination of enormous rock formations, red and orange sand, shadows and changing light makes the landscape constantly different.
I simply didn’t get tired of looking at it.
Rocks & Sand arches
Wadi Rum is primarily a rocky desert, but there are plenty of sand dunes too. Huge sandstone formations rise out of the desert, with spectacular natural arches carved into the rock.
Some can even be climbed.
Camels
There are animals in Wadi Rum, although you probably won’t see many.
There are snakes – including two poisonous species – but your chances of encountering one are probably much lower than your chances of seeing a camel.
Look for tracks in the sand early in the morning.
Mostly, though, you’ll see tents made from goat hair and camels.
The camel has traditionally been an important part of Bedouin life, used as a pack animal and for transportation across the desert.
You can, of course, pay for a camel ride, whether for an hour or several days.
We didn’t.
There is also an annual camel race.
Plants in the desert
Even in the desert, plants manage to survive.
Tiny patches of green against all that red and orange somehow make the landscape even more impressive.
CAMPING IN
WADI RUM
Desert camps were pretty basic when we visited.
Today, you can find everything from simple Bedouin-style camps to rather luxurious desert accommodation, but that wasn’t really a thing in Jordan at the time.
And honestly, I’m not here for luxury.
The camp where we stayed is no longer there, but there are plenty of similar camps. Ours could accommodate around 20 people, although there were only ten guests that night.
And, as so often happens when we travel, we were the only ones with a child.
When we arrived late in the evening, we were greeted with tea in the large dining tent, which was covered with goat-hair carpets.
A tall, handsome Bedouin man wearing a long white traditional robe entered the tent and welcomed us to his camp.
I still remember him clearly all these years later.
After dinner, we went out to watch the sunset.
The colours of the desert and rocks changed from blue to grey to red as the sun disappeared.
It was magic.
And I rarely use that word.
I went to bed early with my exhausted son. And then came the downside.
It was so cold that we barely slept at all.
The next morning, we shared a ride with some of the other people from the camp back to the visitor centre, where our first Mohammed picked us up and drove us on to Petra.
We were exhausted by the time we reached Petra, thanks to our freezing night in the desert.
So, if you’re planning to combine Wadi Rum and Petra, I would definitely recommend doing it the other way around. Visit Petra first. Then sleep in the desert. And make sure you bring something warm.
Practical advice for Wadi Rum
- I usually wear a scarf or hat when travelling in Muslim countries. Partly out of respect, partly because I don’t want to stir up unnecessary negativity, and partly because it protects me from the sun.
- But as you can see from the photos above, it wasn’t exactly hot.
- It was cold and windy, and we wore several layers and were still chilly.
- I experienced exactly the same thing in the Sahara.
- So don’t assume that a desert means scorching temperatures. Deserts can be surprisingly cold – especially at night.
I also always carry an actual guidebook because, of course, I want to know the history of the places I’m visiting.
If you’re interested in the culture and history of the region, I recommend The Penguin Anthology of Classical Arabic Literature. It’s full of love, sand, songs and crying.
Basically, everything you could want from Arabian literature.
If you dream of Arabian nights, Marrakech might be something for you: Moroccan Dreams of Storks & Palaces in Marrakech
Do you dream of sleeping in the desert?
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