From the Red Desert to Petra the Rose

Trip Description

Accomodation

Stay program

• day 1

  Amman

  

  Flight to Amman. Welcome at the airport by our team, then transfer and check-in at the hotel. Transfer: private vehicle, about 30 minutes. Accommodation: hotel***. Meals included: dinner. Meals not included: breakfast, lunch.

• day 2

  Amman - Wadi Rum - Umm Ishrin - Seven Pillars of Wisdom

  

  The Wadi Rum desert... Meeting with the local Bedouin team, then departure on foot into the small maze of natural trails, surrounded by rock formations with unusual shapes... Discovery of the 7 Pillars of Wisdom, a grandiose place where enormous orange rock blocks, several hundred meters high, rise straight out of the sands and impose silence... Superb view over the immense valley of Umm Ishrin, a vast sandy plain dotted with countless sandstone mushrooms, sometimes streaked with blue, sometimes with white and pink... Magnificent! Continuing the hike to reach the famous site of Anfasieh and its Nabataean inscriptions dating from Antiquity, at the time when Petra was flourishing and the Nabataeans were the masters of trade... Arrival at the foot of the Great Red Sand Dune for a bivouac under the starry sky. Transfer time: jeep, about 2 hours 30 minutes. Walking time: about 5 hours. Accommodation: camp. Meals included: breakfast - lunch - dinner.

• day 3

  Umm Fruth Natural Arch - Umm Rachid

  

  Hiking towards the natural arch of Umm Fruth, a large natural bridge above the desert sands... fantastic! Easy ascent of this stone monument that seems to have emerged straight from the red and orange sands. Continuing south and arriving in the late afternoon at Umm Rachid, a magical place to watch sunsets over the Sahara, far from tourist areas. Walking time: about 6 hours. Accommodation: camp. Meals included: breakfast - lunch - dinner.

• day 4

  Umm Rachid - Burdha Arch

  

  Continuation of the hike in the Umm Muqur valley, surrounded by immense rock walls that form the massif of the same name. The color of these walls constantly changes with the angle of the sun and shifts from mauve to pink, to orange, to red... Impressive in its beauty! Arrival at the foot of Jebel Burdha at the end of the afternoon. Walking time: about 6 hours. Accommodation: camp. Meals included: breakfast - lunch - dinner.

• day 5

  Burdha Arch - Little Petra

  

  If you are in good shape and feel like it, optional ascent of the Burdha Arch, also called Rock Bridge (35 m high), a natural arch above the Sahara, recognized as one of the highest in the world! Superb viewpoint over the Wadi Rum desert... or direct transfer to Siq al Barid, at the gates of Petra. Hike on the Siq al Barid if the ascent of Burdha has not been done. Transfer: about 2 hours. Walking time: about 4 hours with the ascent of the Burdha Arch. Accommodation: camp. Meals included: breakfast - lunch - dinner.

• day 6

  Little Petra: Siq al-Barid - El Deir Monastery - Qasr el-Bint - Snake Monument

  

  Hiking in the Siq al Barid, also called Little Petra; discovery of the first temples and triclinia that announce the entrance to Petra. By little-used paths, arrival at the Al Deir monastery, a monument of impressive dimensions. Then, descending the 800 steps, discovery of the Qsar el Bint, one of Petra's main temples; visit of the Byzantine church and the royal tombs, then arrival at the Snake Monument, a site made up of rocks with unusual shapes, one of which resembles the silhouette of a rearing snake! Setting up camp in a fantastic setting. Walking time: about 6 hours. Accommodation: camp. Meals included: breakfast - lunch - dinner.

• day 7

  Petra: Temple of the Roman Soldier - High Places of Sacrifices - El Khazneh (the Treasury)

  

  Discovery of Wadi Farasa with the Roman Soldier's Temple, the Lion Statue, and the High Place of Sacrifice, a summit where the Nabataeans built a vast esplanade, with two enormous obelisks standing on either side. Then descent towards the Theater and the Treasury "El Khazneh", an impressive façade carved into the rock, with grandiose dimensions and architecture. Exit the site through the Siq, a huge rocky gorge 1,200 m long. Walking time: about 6 hours. Accommodation: hotel***. Meals included: breakfast - lunch - dinner.

• day 8

  Petra: Street of Colonnades - Royal Tombs - Little Siq

  

  Last hike in Petra to discover, from the ridges, the superb façade of El Khazneh, seen from another angle; the view from the top of this ridge is even more spectacular than the day before! Then descent via the colonnaded street, the royal tombs, and finally the small Siq. Walking time: about 6 hours. Accommodation: hotel***. Meals included: breakfast - lunch - dinner.

• day 9

  Petra - Dead Sea - Amman

  

  Return to Amman via the shores of the Dead Sea; lunch and swimming in this unusual and mysterious place to test the amazing buoyancy due to the extreme salt saturation... Showers and changing rooms will be at your disposal. Transfer to the airport, flight to France. Transfer: private vehicle, about 3 hours. Meals included: breakfast - lunch. Meals not included: dinner. Flights Amman/Paris or to other regions are often scheduled at night; therefore, arrival in France may be on day 10.