Circuit from Little Petra to Wadi Rum desert + itinerary map

After Great Petra, our circuit takes us to discover the Little Petra and will lead us to wadi rum desert where we will spend the night of the 6th day of our road trip in Jordan.

From Little Petra to the Wadi Rum desert - Itinerary map

Today, 1st day of 2020, we leave our hotel to visit Little Petra which is only 1/4 hour drive away and then continue with 2 hours drive to reach the Wadi Rum desert. Here is our itinerary for the day:

Contrary to our habits, we leave a little too late in the morning (difficult to wake up after the evening of the New Year's Eve…). And what had to happen happened… when we discover the site of Little Petra, there are already whole buses of Chinese swarming and swarming everywhere. This is exactly what I hate, but I stop moaning because if we had had a little more courage, we could have arrived early enough to avoid them!

We therefore enter in single file in the Little petra by a narrow fault 350 m in length known as the "cold canyon" or Siq Al-Barid in Arabic. We arrive at a first temple, then the visit continues with 1 tricliniums and a little further on the left, a staircase leads to the Painted House, one of the rare painted Nabataean interior remains to have survived time (but very damaged).

The colors are beautiful but after the Great Petra, we are less amazed! It's a bit like Boxing Day ...

Discovery of Little Petra in the morning

Then, you have to climb a passage between the rocks to climb to a plateau where the view is panoramic and magnificent.

petite petra site visit

Panoramic view from the point of view of the small petra

The Wadi Rum desert - Change of scenery and emotions

We take the road south towards Ras Al-Naqab and Wadi Rum. It is at the very beginning of the afternoon that we arrive at the entrance of the site. Unfortunately the sun is hiding… I still blame myself for getting up so late this morning.

We take the time to have a bite to eat (buffet at JOD 12 at the Visitor Center cafeteria), buy our tickets and book our pick-up for a 2-hour trip from 15:30 p.m. Just enough time to drop off our luggage in our camp room.

We experience Jordan's largest and most majestic desert landscape with red sandstone hills and rock formations, golden needles and dunes.

Impossible to admire the supposed "magnificent sunset" because there was no more sun ... On the other hand, the colors at nightfall were sublime! In any case, it will be necessary to be satisfied with it !!!

The Wadi Rum desert in southern Jordan

view of wadi rum desert

Wadi Rum Desert - Dinner and overnight in Bedouin tents

The evening with the Bedouins, a few Italians and 4 Spaniards will remain for a long time (I hope) among the best memories I will keep of Jordan.

We all sat down at nightfall (18pm) around the fire (appreciated because it was very, very cold) where tables and stools were arranged. We waited a good hour for the lamb, chicken and vegetables to finish cooking, buried in the sand.

Then we were treated to a real spectacle when the Bedouin chef unearthed his traditional dinner cooked in the zarb, which is an underground “oven” covered in sand. The cook, a very good actor besides, knew how to organize a staging worthy of the best film directors and let the suspense rise.

traditional dinner cooked in the zarb

Where to sleep in the desert of Wadi Rum?

Our accommodation was in a private camp in the middle of the desert in well-equipped camps with toilets, showers and heating !!! This is an important point because at the beginning of January the temperatures are extremely cold at night in the desert.

I know that there are controversies over this type of accommodation which "concrete" the desert and which does not correspond at all to responsible ecotourism and all and all ... but for 1 night, I admit that I I did wrong and that I even really appreciated the comfort without feeling the slightest bit guilty.

So, without wanting to influence the next desert tourists, here is the link to the Dream camp ...

And if you want to discover our last day in Jordan:

Road trip from the desert to the Dead Sea

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