Visiting Jordan’s Majestic Wadi Rum & Our Luxury Desert Camp

The “Lost City” of Petra is Jordan’s most famous visitor sight. However, majestic Wadi Rum is the not-to-be-missed close runner up. Aptly named “The Valley of the Moon,” this other-worldly desert landscape dazzles with its sea of reddish-orange sand dunes & wind-weathered rock formations that dramatically rise out of the valley floor.

Wadi Rum became famous thanks to “Lawrence of Arabia,” the 1962 film starring Peter O’Toole. The movie introduced Wadi Rum’s incredible beauty to the rest of the world, attracting a steady stream of tourists and a growing number of film crews. Recent movies filmed here include “Dune,” “Star Trek” & “The Martian”!

Located near Jordan’s southern border, the Wadi Rum Protected Area was designated a reserve in 1998 & became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2011. The majority of the population are Bedouins – a term which means “desert dweller.” They have developed eco-adventure tourism and services throughout Wadi Rum.

With an area of 720 sq. km (280 sq. miles), Wadi Rum is the largest wadi in Jordan. Wadi (in Arabic) refers to the bed or valley of a river that is usually dry. With less than 3 days of rain a year, Wadi Rum has become a popular Middle Eastern destination for hikers, climbers, campers, and nature lovers.

My Recent Visit to Jordan & Wadi Rum

I visited Jordan with a group of six friends in April 2025, after a tour of Egypt. We booked our 6-day Jordan trip through Petra Moon Tours, based in Jordan. They provided us with a great itinerary & an excellent local guide, Ghadain.

We visited the country’s main sights – including Amman, Petra, Wadi Rum, and the Dead Sea. I’m happy to report that Jordan really delivered! The trip was a pleasure from start to finish, with safe & easy travel, incredible sights, great food, and friendly local people!

As expected, our visit to Wadi Rum was one of the trip highlights! We enjoyed a 4×4 jeep tour of the desert landscape and an overnight at a luxury desert camp.

In this blog post, I will share our wonderful experience visiting the area – and why I believe Wadi Rum should be on your “must see” list whenever your plans take you to Petra or any other part of Jordan.

So, let’s get started. Come with me as we experience Wadi Rum…

Arrival at Wadi Rum Visitor Center

We had just spent two delightful days in Petra, touring its world-famous ruins – watch for a separate Petra blog post coming soon! Departing Petra around 1pm, we headed south along the King’s Highway.

After a 2-hour drive, we arrived at the large, stylish Wadi Rum Visitor Center – the main gateway to the Wadi Rum Protected Area. All visitors to Wadi Rum must report here before venturing further into the valley.

The Visitor Center has a variety of facilities, including the reception area, a restaurant, craft shops (supporting local women), and natural history interpretation halls.

We spent most of our short time here checking out Wadi Rum’s beautiful desert landscape – giving us a taste of what was to come. We took a short walk to a lookout point to better view the famed Jebel al-Mazmar mountain, which is dubbed the “Seven Pillars of Wisdom.”

In fact, Seven Pillars of Wisdom is the autobiographical account of the experiences of British Army Colonel T.E. Lawrence (“Lawrence of Arabia”) while serving as a military advisor to Bedouin forces during the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire of 1916 to 1918.

Meeting Up with Our Desert 4×4 Vehicles

Leaving the Wadi Rum Visitor Center, the tarmac road continues another 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) to the village of Rum – a scruffy town, surrounded by massive cliffs. There, the surfaced road ends and the Wadi Rum desert sand tracks begin!

Wadi Rum village itself consists of several hundred Bedouin inhabitants with their goat-hair tents and concrete houses, along with their four-wheel (4×4) vehicles. There, our tour bus pulled into a small parking lot for the Memories Aicha desert camp, where we would be spending the night.

Our “4×4 jeep” drivers were waiting for us. The luggage was piled into one of the vehicles, while we humans piled into the other “jeep” (actually a Toyota truck). Our tour guide Ghadain rode in front with the Bedouin driver while we 7 “happy campers” sat in the back of the open-air truck bed on bench seating!

It was 4:15pm when we took off on our 2.5-hour 4×4 Jeep Tour of Wadi Rum. We made three “sightseeing” stops along the way as we drove through some amazing desert scenery.

We were awed by the orange-red sands of the valley floor lined by tall & incredibly picturesque sandstone & granite peaks. It was a lovely, clear day with comfortable touring temperatures.

Stop #1 – “Sand Dune” Mountain

Our jeep parked at the base of a small rocky mountain, with a tall sand dune located on one of its sides! My group quickly scurried up the dune to the top. They then crossed over to the rocks to get some higher up views down over Wadi Rum – before carefully picking their way back down the rocks.

I was the laggard, still recovering from a pickleball calf injury. It was all I could do to get myself slowly to the top of the dune, sinking into its really deep sand! Of course, going down a dune is much easier.

This “sand dune mountain” (my name!) was a popular stop. So, it was fun to watch other visitors working their way up the sand dune – including some younger visitors running fast back down the dune and trying not to trip & fall!

Stop #2 – Jabal Khazali & Siq (Gorge)

It was a short drive to our next stop – the impressive mountain (Jabal Khazali) and the narrow gorge (siq) that runs through it. Near the “sand parking lot” for the 4×4 vehicles, a local Bedouin man had set up his large refreshment tent (for coffee & mint tea) & souvenir shop. This was common for popular tour stops like this one.

The Khazali siq is famous for its many ancient inscriptions & rock art. We walked into the gorge and up some rock steps to reach a short wooden walkway between the siq walls for a closer look. Ghadain told us that these various inscriptions date from 3000 BC; 150-200 BC; and 570-620 AD.

At the entrance to the Siq, there was a sign which explained more. It read:

This site, rich with inscriptions & rock-art, is a narrow fissure that cuts Jabal Khazali. Because it is an area where water collects in the desert, from antiquity onwards, the site has been regarded as holy and even blessed.

The site contains three types of rock-art: South Safaitic (Thamudic E inscriptions or Hismaic); Arabic inscriptions in the Kufic script; and petroglyphs that depict humans, animals, and footprints.

Stop #3 – Natural Rock Arch

After another short drive, we arrived at our third stop – a cool rock formation with a natural arch/bridge on top. As we arrived at 6:00pm, the moon had already begun to rise and was, in fact, visible through the arch! Of course, we all took out our cameras/phones & carefully positioned ourselves to catch that classic shot. (below left)

I waited below, while Ghadain & the rest of my group scrambled up to the top of the rock. A small line of people were there, waiting to take their turn to carefully walk (and/or crawl!) out to the top of the narrow rock arch to have their photo taken.

However, Ghadain was concerned about the winds and didn’t feel it was safe enough for our group to partake in this photo opportunity on the arch. Too bad, but I always appreciate a safety-conscious tour guide – one who is truly committed to bringing all “his charges” back alive & in one piece!

Watch the 27 second video below for a 360 degree view of the bridge & the valley floor: (FYI: you can hit Mute to turn off the background wind noise)

Driving to Our Desert Camp / Sunset Photos

With the main sightseeing done, it was time to head to our luxury camp for the night. Yet again, it was a short drive (only 5-10 minutes) to the Memories Aicha Luxury Camp. Arriving at 6:40pm, we quickly unloaded the vehicles. The camp was located a bit above the valley floor, nestled up close to a beautiful mountain.

Since the sun was about to set, one of the jeep drivers agreed to take 5 of us back down to the valley floor where we could get better sunset photos – and just in time! Only 10 minutes later, the sun disappeared behind the mountain peaks.

We were able to get some fun photos. I especially like the ones showing our long shadows in the vibrant orange-red sands of the end-of-day light.

Our Lovely Memories Aicha Luxury Camp

After returning to camp, we were escorted to our tented rooms. I couldn’t wait to see what the interior looked like! Along with Sherry & her daughter Arial, I had upgraded from the regular luxury tent to a Panoramic dome tent (which cost an additional $188). From the outside, the tent was already a Wow. Its blue geodesic dome with clear windows (on one side) looked pretty space age!

Apparently, Memories Aicha is the most luxurious of all Wadi Rum desert camps. They opened in 2018 and have a total of 55 tents. They offer similarly-sized Junior Luxury tents & Panoramic Luxury “dome” tents.

Both types have plush furnishings with comfy beds & lovely Arabic style furniture, a private bathroom with a shower & hair dryer, heat/air conditioning, and a terrace. Yep, it was definitely “glamping”!

Dinner & Drinks at the Cave Bar

The Camp’s overnight stay includes a buffet dinner and a continental breakfast. The meals are served in a large white domed restaurant / dining tent. Dinner offered a good choice of Mediterranean and other local dishes – plus a large dessert bar (always my favorite!).

One station served chicken (or was it lamb?) that had been cooked in traditional Bedouin style under the earth. Zārb is a special desert oven placed in the ground and used to cook meat over coals.

After dinner, our group headed next door to the camp’s Cave Bar, which is cleverly built into the rock of the overhanging mountain! The décor is very “Arabian Nights” & a fun way to end your desert evening.

We ordered a mix of non-alcoholic drinks and hot tea. We also decided to “go local” by ordering a hookah (shisha) in a Lemon Mint flavor. Ghadain & the waiter gave us a detailed “demo” on how to set up and use the hookah.

FYI – While the terms “hookah” and “shisha” are often used interchangeably, “hookah” refers to the waterpipe device itself, while “shisha” specifically refers to the flavored tobacco used within the hookah. Do you feel smarter now?

One more fact. Memories Aicha is a “dry camp” because it does not serve alcohol on-site. However, guests are permitted to bring their own alcohol. This is common in many areas of Jordan (including Petra), since it is primarily a Muslim country.

Bedtime Under the Stars

We were all tired from an active day of touring, so we headed back to our tents a bit before 10pm. The night air was definitely cool – probably in the mid-40s F.

Unfortunately, with bright moonlight (almost a full moon) and exterior lights in the camp, stargazing wasn’t that great. However, I was able to identify Orion’s Belt, Mars & Jupiter, but certainly no views of the Milky Way.

Sherry & Arial LOVED their Panoramic Luxury (domed) Tent. Later in the evening, the exterior lights in the camp were dimmed so they could pull back the thick curtains covering the clear, domed windows. They really enjoyed watching the moonlight from the comfort of their bed – as well as the early morning views. (photo above right).

Our Morning Departure / Camp Goodbyes

With our group’s scheduled 8am departure time, we quickly packed and headed to breakfast. It was another pretty morning with clear, blue skies.

Many of our group loved wearing the fur-lined leather “bathrobes” provided in each room for the guests. Of course, we had to get a photo of the gals in their stylish Bedouin robes.

Sadly, it was time to leave – our time in the Luxury Desert Camp had passed much too quickly. We gathered in the reception area, where we could leave tips for the camp staff and pay any final bar tabs. Staff brought our luggage & loaded it back onto one of the 4×4 jeeps.

It was now 8:15am, with the air still a bit nippy, but we didn’t care. We climbed into the back of the 4×4 vehicle with our Bedouin driver and took off.

As we left, we passed by a group of camels lounging just outside our camp (photos below). The Camp does offer a couple camel ride options (1 & 2.5 hours) but our group declined – due to our tight schedule.

Plus, most of us had ridden camels before (most recently in Egypt by the pyramids & in Morocco a few years prior). However, Wadi Rum is certainly a good location for a camel ride!

It was a short 10-minute ride back to the town of Rum where our tour bus & driver were waiting for us. The open-air ride was our last chance to relish Wadi Rum’s magnificent scenery.

We were all so grateful that we had been able to experience this very special part of Jordan, not to mention spending the night “glamping” in our luxury desert tents!

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Recent Movies Filmed in Wadi Rum

Hollywood loves to film here due to Wadi Rum’s Mars-like landscape with its blood-red sands and other-worldly sandstone mountains. Here are a few recent films shot here:

• Planets LV223 in “Prometheus” (2012)
• Mars in “The Martian” with Matt Damon (2015)
• Pasaana in “Star Wars” (2019)
• Arrakis in “Dune” (2021 & 2024).

ADDITIONAL WADI RUM INFO & RESOURCES

Memories Aicha Luxury Camp (Wadi Rum) – photo below

Petra Moon Tourism Services – They planned our 6-day Jordan trip (all via email) & were excellent to work with – very professional! They are based out of Jordan (offices in Petra & Amman) and I highly recommend them. Contact them via email at – info@petramoon.com.

Blog Post by Odynovo Tours – 10 Interesting Things About Wadi Rum That Will Surprise You

COMMENTS: Have you visited Wadi Rum? Did you spend the night in one of the camps? What was your experience? Do you have any recommendations or tips?