In Wadi Rum in the seven pillars camp You will be close to your nature Away from the requirements of urbanization,which caused us a lot of troubles You are here as created from the outset Your sight and your hearing, your mind and your feelings are completely normal This region was and still untouched by human But remained as built by the creator

Wadi Rum is a spectacularly scenic desert valley (wadi in Arabic) in southern Jordan, or valley of the moon, because of the unique landscape that nearly similar to that on the moon.
This area of Jordan is quite isolated and largely inhospitable to settled life. The only permanent inhabitants are several thousand Bedouin nomads and villagers. There is no real infrastructure, leaving the area quite unspoilt. Apart from the Bedouin goat hair tents, the only structures are a few concrete shops and houses and the fort headquarters of the Desert Patrol Corps.

T E Lawrence (of Arabia) spent a significant amount of time here during the course of the British-inspired Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire during the First World War (1914-1918). Fans of the 1962 film Lawrence of Arabia will be familiar with the landscape, which are not so much sand dunes as it is a mass of soaring cliffs and sandstone and Granite Mountains. 

Lawrence’s Spring: Just 2km (1.2 miles) south-west of the village of Rum. The spring is at the top of a short scramble – head for the fig tree! Although the pool itself is largely unprepossessing, being a stagnant puddle, the views across the desert are truly spectacular. 

The Nabataean Temple: Near the Rest House in Rum Village. The surrounding area is covered in Thamudic and Kufic rock art. 

Burdah Rock Bridge:

On many tours you only view this from a distance, but it is possible to climb up to this rock bridge if you have a guide and a reasonable level of fitness.
Umm Fruth Rock Bridge: A lower rock bridge which is featured on many tours and can be easily scrambled on to.
Red Sand Dunes: There are various places in Wadi Rum where the white and red sands meet, but the most commonly visited is a dune sloping up alongside a jebel – a bit tough to climb up as Wadi Rum has the highest mountain in Jordan ( um arbeen ). 

Seven Pillars of Wisdom: Although most people can only count five, this is an impressive rock formation near the Visitor’s centre. It is named after T E Lawrence’s book – not the other way around! 

Jebel Khaz’ali: This narrow canyon contains numerous Nabataean rock carvings of people and animals.
A journey to Wadi Rum is a journey to another world. A vast, silent place, timeless and starkly beautiful. Wadi Rum is one of Jordan’s main tourist attractions being the most stunning desert escape in the World.

General Activities

The genuine attraction of Wadi Rum is the desert itself, best seen by four wheel drive ( 4×4 ) ,horse and camel ride, Desert trekking & hiking tours , Some visitors only spend a few hours in the Wadi, but it’s definitely worth taking a guided trip of several days duration, staying overnight with Bedouin families or camping in the desert.

Wadi Rum Ecology

Desert Science

The majority of Tourists who visit Wadi Rum very rarely get to see most of the desert creatures or see very few. Reason being these creatures are nocturnal and avoid the daytime sun and many of the larger creatures their numbers are very low and gradually declining. However, you are likely to encounter a variety of interesting birds, insects and reptiles if a little time is spent to look carefully.

Trees are rare in Rum and are restricted to only three types. They are Acacias, False Figs and Tamarisks. The Acacias are the most typically desert-looking tree they have flat tops, spiny and sparse branches. The plants you will see most often are short, woody shrubs scattered across the desert, which consist of four main species.

The “White Saxaul” has a stout rugged stem and grey bark growing up to (4.5-5) metres in height. It lacks large foliage type leaves in fact it‘s leaves have retrogressed as succulent branches. You will find this plant is often found in sand hills, deserts and sand ridges, where it often forms pure stands. It is a hardy tree that grows in nutritionally poor soil and tolerates drought.

This tree is in leaf all year and flowers in (May-June). The plant’s extensive root-system is useful for stabilising sandy soils. The wood is durable and heavy, it is used in general carpentry and also used as fuel it gives off good heat and burns well. These shrub types including “Jointed Anabasis” and “Hammada Salicornia provide and important food source for Bedouin goats and camels, especially in the summer months. At the best of times these animals usually enjoy the smaller succulent desert plants to feed on.

Surprisingly the sparse desert scrub harbours a variety of small birds. The most common of these is the buff coloured “Desert Lark”, but the more distinctive and most common are the black and white “Mourning Wheatear” and the “White Crowned Black Wheatear”, both of which have very striking colour patterns.

During the Summer months and wheeling across the desert scrubs and along the cliffs you are likely to see “African Rock Martins”. As well as these you may see passing flocks of “Tristrams’ Grackle”, which are members of the Starling family. The are native to the region and nest on rocky cliff faces, they measure about (25cm) long which includes a (9cm tail) with a wingspan of (45cm) and weight of (100-140g). The males have glossy iridescent black plumage with patches on the outer wing, that you can notice easily while in flight, the bill and legs are black. The females are similar but much duller, with greyish head and don’t share the glossy plumage. They are very noisy with calls that resemble a wolf-like whistle, and feed on fruit and invertebrates.

In early Spring and Autumn, Rum becomes an important flyway for birds migrating between Africa and Eastern Europe, especially for birds of prey, like “Steppe Buzzards“, “Honey Buzzards” and “Steppe Eagles“. During these months it is possible for you to see hundreds of these birds migrating in a single day.

There are Reptiles that are widespread in Rum, but do not exist in high numbers. This may be considered very fortunate by some visitors, since there are ten species of snake, two of which are very poisonous vipers. The classic sidewinder which movements leaves “S” shaped tracks indented in the sands and “Burton’s Carpet Viper”. It should be stressed, however, that bites from these snakes (or any snakes) are extremely rare; the vast majority of visitors never see them.

The reptiles most likely to be seen are Lizards, and especially Geckos and Agamas. The Blue Agama is comparatively large, growing up to (35cm) and can be seen basking on rocks or hiding in the crevices. The males in breeding condition develop an exotic blue head and upper body, which is very noticeable.

Down on the sand, one common small creature is a “Black Beetle” with very long legs and frequently seen crossing areas of open sand during the daytime, where it tiptoes to keep its body off the hot ground. Other kinds of invertebrates (insects, spiders and their allies) have different strategies for keeping cool, such as making burrows and hiding under stones.

One group of famous animals that can be found frequently under stones in Rum are Scorpions. A total of eight kinds have been recorded so far, from large brown ones to small yellow ones. It is the small, yellow ones that give the most painful sting, although like snakes, very few visitors see them and ever get stung.
Also common in Rum are small furry animals, especially the mouse-like gerbils, with their long back legs. They are active only at night and few visitors get a chance to see them, but their burrows are easy to spot and they make distinctive tracks across the sand.

Help  Wadi Rum

Wadi Rum is a very beautiful and special place, at the moment it is facing some challenging environmental problems. The growing pressure from visitors, and especially from off-road vehicles, is damaging the fragile desert ecology. There is also a problem of littering and the loss of wildlife through illegal hunting in this region.

A major conservation programme is underway to tackle these problems, including zoning schemes, organized vehicle routes, better tourist information and the creation of a team of conservation rangers to patrol the area. At the same time we need the help of all visitors to make our efforts to protect Wadi Rum successful.

If you are planning to visit this unique protected area, please follow the Rules and Regulations. Please do your utmost to respect the site in protecting nature and its people. The area was not declared a Protected Area just to conserve the landscapes and wildlife, but also to give local communities new opportunities too.

This is being done in three main ways:

The Entrance fees are shared with the local communities. A proportion of each visitor’s entrance charge is given directly to local tourism cooperatives.

Appropriate tourism development is being supported throughout the protected area, tied to protection measures that try to minimize the harmful effects of visitor pressure.Small craft and souvenir businesses are being developed with Bedouin women to generate more economic benefits from the protected area

DEAR GUEST 

• Before you tie your luggage please read the following  Important Informations : 
• YOU are in a desert and it is better to have :
• – sleeved clothes unless you want to have sun path
• – a hat
• – anti-sunburn
• – sun glasses
• – hiking shoes
• – small torch

FOOD

or wadi rum fire food which is a basic feature of camping in wadi rum desert

Breakfast usually consists of bread ,cheese , jam ,eggs and butter unless other food requested . on lunch and dinner.we offer a variety of meals to suit all our guests , such as cooked and grilled meat (BBQ), vegetables ,salads and bread . we can provide Bedouin bread if requested .

Drinks are coffee , Bedouin coffee and tea are available all the time

SLEEPING

Mattresses , blankets and pillows are available , you can choose to sleep in the big tents , small tents , in the area between the big tents under stars or you can move to sleep on the golden sands beside the camp .