%20copy.jpg)
Book a hike
Journeys on the Wadi Rum Trail should be organised directly through the Wadi Rum Trail Association, via this website. The Wadi Rum Trail Association is overseen by the founders of the Wadi Rum Trail and is responsible for ensuring the correct route of the Wadi Rum Trail is followed and that suitably experienced guides are employed from the local Bedouin community. 18 Bedouin families from five different tribes live together in Wadi Rum Village today, with most of them belonging to the Zalabia clan of the Anaza tribe. Other Bedouin families in Wadi Rum Village belong to tribes known as the Bani Atiya, Billi, Howaytat and Tarabin. Families of these tribes have worked alongside eachother for decades to build Wadi Rum's tourism up into the successful industry it is today and they remain active today. The Wadi Rum Trail exists for the Bedouin community of Wadi Rum and the Wadi Rum Trail Association ensures that work upon the route is spread between the best guides who come from every different section of the community. The Wadi Rum Trail Association can be contacted via this website.
THE BEDOUIN FAMILIES OF WADI RUM
The Bedouin families of Wadi Rum Village operate all journeys on the Wadi Rum Trail & hikes should be organised through them. Wadi Rum has a diverse Bedouin makeup, with 18 family groups representing five different tribes, all shown in this chart. The Zalabia clan of the Anaza tribe are Wadi Rum's biggest Bedouin group comprising 11 families: in alphabetic order, El Aiyidiyeen, El Awadiyeen, El Awdaat, El Ayiliyeen, El Hamdiyeen, El Mubarkiyeen, El Muhamdiyeen, El Rubayeen, El Salmaniyeen, El Samran & El Zidaniyeen. The Bilawna family belong to the Billi tribe with the Juyaan family from a tribe called the Bani Atiya. El Madka, El Munaya, El Rubayi & El Sawalhiyeen are all families of the Howaytat, a widely spread tribe who hold large swathes of territory in Jordan, Egypt & Saudi Arabia. Families of a tribe called the Tarabin also live in Wadi Rum Village.
What are the costs?
Costs will vary according to the type of support chosen and the Bedouin operator used. As a community tourism project the Wadi Rum Trail advocates fair prices for Bedouin operators and hikers alike but it does not set prices and can give only general guidelines on what to expect. An experienced, English-speaking Bedouin hiking guide will cost around 100JD/ day, divided by the number of people in a group; a Bedouin rock climbing guide for Jebel Rum and perhaps Jebel Birda 150-200JD/ day. 4x4 support costs around 80JD/ day and camels the same, but more than one camel will be required as a group gets larger; one or two hikers will usually require a single camel, three or four hikers will require two; five or six hikers, three, and so on. Alongside guides, camels and 4x4s Bedouin operators will usually provide food, water and everything else required on a wilderness trip including communal gas stoves and cooking equipment. Fixing a journey like this with everything included in the price is the simplest option and usually the cheapest. For a group of 1 or 2 people using camel support including everything on an expedition from start to finish - guides, food and water - expect to pay 250JD/ day; 3 or 4 people, 350JD/ day; 5 or 6 people, 450JD/ day; 7 or 8 people, 550JD/ day; 9 or 10 people, 650JD/ day; 11 or 12 people, 750JD/ day. When costs are divided in a group of 4 people, the cost per hiker would be 88JD/ day; in a group of 8, around 68JD. These costs would not include climbing guides, whose costs would be additional for the particular days their guidance was required.
WADI RUM TRAIL: SHORT SECTIONS & INDEPENDENT HIKING
The Wadi Rum Trail is typically done over a 10 day schedule but it can be done faster, even in as few as seven days if longer distances are covered each day and if climbing sections are accelerated. You do not have to walk the whole route of the Wadi Rum Trail: most hikers only do short sections of it lasting from 1-5 days in total. We do not recommend attempting to hike the Wadi Rum Trail independently - i.e. without Bedouin support - at this stage: it traverses remote landscapes in which there is no source of water or food on the trail and navigation is often extremely intricate, especially on Bedouin climbing routes in the high sandstone mountains. The Wadi Rum Trail is working towards marking the trail and installing water tanks at daily intervals to ensure it can be walked independently in the future but we are a small, community project, without funding, which means this is unfolding at a slow pace that will likely run into several years.