Jordan 2012: It's party time!

Forget London – there’s quite a party planned in Jordan this year, as two of the nation’s most epic attractions celebrate significant anniversaries

Wanderlust team | Issue 129 | June 2012

Petra and Wadi Rum – two of the most evocative place names in the travel world. The mere words conjure a hot and heady exoticism: they suggest pictures of rippled sand, bright Bedouin tents and the clink of tea glasses; they inspire dreams of galloping through narrow canyons, headscarf flying, to discover temples, hewn in the rock – like The Arabian Nights, Indiana Jones and Boy’s Own adventures all wrapped up in one. But we might not have known about them at all...

Petra: age and beauty

Imagine you’re a young adventurer, not even 30, exploring the wilds of ancient Arabia. Then one hot August day in 1812, you overhear local Bedouin talk of some ruins just off your path – and uncover one of the greatest wonders of the world, ‘hidden’ for centuries.

It is 200 years since Johann Ludwig Burckhardt rediscovered the lost city of Petra; only 200 years that the modern world has known about this Nabatean-built marvel, carved from the rose-red rock of the Jordanian desert more than three millennia ago.
That the world could have misplaced this extensive capital is staggering. And all the more reason to celebrate it in 2012.

The good thing is that it’s much easier to find these days. And there are so many ways to explore. Nothing quite matches your first walk down the Siq, the narrow canyon leading to the Treasury’s iconic facade. But what about the hike up to the Monastery, and its sweeping views? Or walking the rocky trail to the High Place of Sacrifice? Or sitting in the
giant Theatre, big enough to hold 8,500 souls?

You can also wander a whole other Petra at night, one atmospherically illuminated by
a million flickering candles where you can learn to cook local dishes at Petra Kitchen and perhaps raise a glass to that day, 200 years ago.

Wadi Rum: Lawrence legend lives on

Jordan’s most otherworldly landscape was thrust into the limelight in 1962, with David Lean’s film, Lawrence of Arabia. Peter O’Toole, playing the enigmatic TE Lawrence, may have got top billing but it was the bizarre desert realm used as the movie’s location that stole the show. Fifty years on, Wadi Rum remains just as striking.

This vast valley of rearing rock formations, swirled by apricot sand, is where Lawrence planned his Arab Revolt. Today, it’s more peaceful – indeed, the desert silence is mesmerising. By day, get active: try climbing the craggy peaks and rock walls, dune-bash by 4WD, hike across dunes, gallop off on an Arabian stallion or lollop on a camel. By night, find your own quiet corner of Wadi Rum. Roll out your carpet, light a campfire and listen as the sounds of sweet Bedouin music – but little else – fill the star-spangled sky.

Top 5 other highlights

1. Jerash Must-see Roman site: highlights include the Hippodrome, Hadrian’s Arch and the Temple of Artemis. Chariot races recreate ancient atmosphere.

2. Dead Sea Float in the saltiest of waters, either at a public beach or one of Jordan’s luxuriant seaside spas.

3. Dana Nature Reserve Scan for rare eagles, Nubian ibex and wild cypress trees in this mountainous reserve on the  edge of the Rift Valley. A fine 50km hike links Dana and Petra.

4. Red Sea Dive and snorkel with pristine coral, technicolour fishes and eerie shipwrecks. The port town of Aqaba offers good beaches and fine windsurfing too.

5. Karak A supersized sandcastle lording over the desert, this Crusader fortress was built in the 12th-century. Walk its thick walls – with views stretching to the Dead Sea – and delve down its secret tunnels.

For more information on visiting Jordan, go to visitjordan.com.

Join Wanderlust for an exclusive once-in-a-lifetime at the Royal Geographical Society this summer to celebrate 200 years since the rediscovery of Petra.