Trekking across Jordan’s mountains to get to Petra!

I suppose Petra is no longer a hidden secret and lot of credit for that should go to Indian Jones (or his creators really). When researching Jordan, I was amazed to read a real character in the 1800’s who rediscovered this almost mythical place. Long after the crusaders had left the Levant in the thirteenth century, the memory of this city state gradually faded and by the 1800’s there were only tales of this forgotten civilization somewhere in the deserts of Arabia. It was not until a brave and wily Swiss adventurer rediscovered it in 1812.

Wadi Dana

Cheers to some tea!

The story goes that Petra was feverishly guarded from non-muslims and outsiders and the Swiss adventurer named Johann Burckhardt had to undergo years of preparation to guise himself as a muslim to be finally granted access to the site. There is good material on him on the web if some intrepid travelers want to take inspiration.

Ali making some of his "special" tea

There is an interesting connection with Johann Burckhardt and India on his rediscovery of Petra. Evidently, upon being questioned by the Arabs on his strange accent, he was said to have claimed as being a muslim trader from India and his native tongue was Hindustani (or Hindi) and hence the accent.

Glad my country got shoehorned into this fascinating account of historic discovery, ha!

We modern day travelers have nothing on these “real” adventurers who fought off the vagaries of weather, hostile natives and deadly diseases to document their epic travels. My blogs is a small if insignificant ode to these pioneers.

Thankfully for the masses, today most can visit Petra as a day trip from Amman or Aqaba in the comfort of air-conditioned vehicles. Petra is one of the seven wonders of the modern world and although I disagree with sites being labelled a world wonder purely based on popular vote the fact is that Petra would have heavy tourist traffic.

A Bedouin cave

I love hiking so rather than the common way to get to Petra, I decided to trek there from the village of Dana across several wadi’s and mountains. The 4-day hike from Dana to Petra is or was ranked in the best hikes in the world at some point by National Geography and although they keep updating their list, just making this list probably merits some points.

Down at Dana I made arrangement with a local restaurant owner to find a guide since I had left all arrangement till I arrived in Dana. I just had a small window to find a guide and pack supplies. This was going to be an unsupported trek which meant we would be carrying our own supplies including water for the next four days.

If the previous night at Dana was wet and cold the morning was crisp and clear. Ali, my guide, showed up soon afterwards and we started the trek by descending to the dried river bed of Wadi Dana passing spectacular steep pink-orange hued cliffs on our way down.

Bedouin cattle and Israel in the background

Dana Biosphere reserve is probably the best place to spot Jordan’s wildlife but Ali reckoned that to see them we need to be there at the crack of dawn.

I was in Jordan for its landscape, its history and people so it wasn’t like I was disappointed I didn’t get to see the Syrian wolves or Nubian ibexes although it would have been cool had I encountered them.

Our simple meal

At the river bed there was water seeping out of the ground and this supported lush bamboo growth which was welcome sight in the semi-arid setting. We followed the river bed to Feynan EcoLodge which is reputed to be doing great work. We just stopped there to restock our water and pushed on for a couple more hours through a barren flat land and a Nabataean ruin to reach Wadi Malaga where we pitched the tent for night and Ali got working on his tea.

It was several degrees warmer in Wadi Malaga than at the top in Dana but I was warned that the following day will be a tough climb for the most part and we would be camping high in the mountains where it would be very cold.

Scorpion babies 

Following morning we started ascending the rugged mountains where only the occasional hardy grass and shrubs manage to eke out a living. The local Bedouins who live in caves where they tend to their cattle manage an even precarious existence in these harsh barren mountains.

Ali, probably around thirty, was and a heavy smoker easily downing a few packs of cigarettes each day. Tea was another thing he could not live without. Every extended break, he would light up some nearby dried wood just enough to get a small fire going to make a pot-full of black tea. In Jordan, they do like their tea sweet and although it not my preference this sugary fix was quite refreshing during and after the tiring hikes.

The scorpions in the other picture were right under my feet

Making some Turkish coffee

Bar the occasional Bedouin and his cattle, it was just the two of us for the three days and it gave ample time to get to know about him. He was almost always cheerful and suggested he only does the guiding to support his family. I came to know that he was very critical of Rami, the middle man who connected us. Rami evidently took half the amount I paid, as his commission. I don’t know the real version but want to believe Ali.

Digging in to a warm meal

My opinion however biased is based on his hospitality and generousness and that’s even considering that Jordanians are generally very hospitable. Ali was not a porter cum guide, we were both meant to carry only our share of food and supplies for four days but he never ate anything without sharing it with me. I still recall him telling me to “Eat…eat…more…eat”.

If I look hard at the mirror I have to admit, my busy and somewhat chaotic life makes me morally complacent and should I say selfish sometimes…these experiences are necessary to bring a bit of humility back. Ah…there is so much to learn and be inspired by regular humans.

The second day was a hard grind but we finally made it to the frigid campsite of Ras-Al-Feid. Ali was excited about reaching there as his brother and cousin were going to join us for the night. I was as excited as him to learn that his bother was going to cook a warm meal for us. That evening felt like a little party…first we had tea, then some Turkish coffee (coffee with cardamom) followed by a scrumptious Jordanian meal and ended with an Arabic desert sounding “Crazy”.

Ali hiking through the Shara mountains

The 3^rd morning we said goodbye to Ali’s brother and cousin and started ascending the isolated Shara mountains with breathtaking 360-degree views. Tea breaks were spend drinking tea with Bedouin kids shepherding their cattle and an ancient Nabatean ruin. As I scrambled around the ruins overlooking some stunning scenery I wondered how and why these ancient people lived in these far-flung places. Perhaps it was an indication that we were not too far from the capital of this ancient civilization.

The topography had changed considerably from craggy mountains to limestone and then as we neared the region called Beidha it was dominated by eroded sandstone boulders. Three days of hiking through the mountains with the distant yet spectacular views of the Wadi Araba desert and we started seeing more Bedouin camps, then several groups of locals enjoying picnic and then eventually the dreaded tourist buses. I knew I had to share space with several other from here on out. We were near Little Petra!