Walking through history on the spectacular Jordan Trail

It was late morning and I was sitting on a rock atop a mountain in southern Jordan, munching on a date and taking in the vast panorama of the Great Rift Valley spread out before me. This spectacle was my reward for two hours spent scaling a steep Bedouin track, a clamber punctuated by frequent stops to catch my breath and inhale the scent of boot-trodden thyme. I’d been up since before dawn, when the stars were still etched in the sky, and had just completed the first major climb of my four-day hiking trip on the new Jordan Trail.

This was the inaugural “thru-hike” of the trail, and the realisation of a 20-year dream for veteran British climbers Tony Howard and Di Taylor who accompanied our group and whose brainchild this was. Compiling a guide to trekking in Jordan in the Nineties, they realised they could link some of the paths to create a long-distance trek spanning the entire length of the country. In 2015 the Jordan Trail Association was formed, and the path was officially opened earlier this year. This project is a big deal for the Jordanians, and we were graced by the glamorous presence of HM Queen Rania, who joined us for a few hundred yards of the hike.

My destination on this trip was Petra, some 38 miles (60km) of tough, hilly walking southwards. I’d been practising at home in the Yorkshire Dales, but pottering around England’s green and pleasant landscape was scant preparation for this hike, one of eight stages of the trail. Many of my fellow walkers setting out that morning were much fitter, having walked all the way from Um Qais 249 miles (400km) to the north. Many planned to continue a further 155 miles (250 km) to the Red Sea at Aqaba, and by then would have trekked some six weeks in all.

We had set off in the morning across rock-strewn steppe, studded with acacia trees and spiky shrubs, towards the seemingly impenetrable barrier of the Shara Mountains, the sun casting highlights over their serrated peaks. As it turned out, these mountains are penetrable after all and after a short rest (there’s no shade up here) we began our descent. You need to watch your step on this rocky terrain, but looking down had its advantages as we noticed that the ground beneath our feet was blooming after recent rains, spiky shrubs sprouting deep violet flowers.

We descended – steeply – to a wadi fringed with pink oleander, where the sound of cascading water in this desiccated landscape was like magic. Here, we stopped to rest, eat our boxed lunches and bathe our steaming feet in the river while our Bedouin guides brewed up hot, sweet tea – surprisingly, the most refreshing of drinks in the Arabian heat. It was a truly international group, with hikers from North America and Europe, ranging in age from mid-20s to mid-70s. But there were also Jordanians here – mostly young professional men and women who’d embraced this means to explore the remarkably varied country on their doorstep.

Reluctantly leaving our idyllic picnic spot we walked along Wadi al-Fayed (“Wadi of the Floods”) under cliffs of bronze splashed with juicy green, dense with oleander and dragonflies. We were following a Nabatean rock-cut water channel – our first hint of this great civilisation whose capital was Petra. For most visitors, Petra is the famous Treasury and nearby monuments, but at its peak the city spread over some 400 square miles.

After a hot and weary 11 miles of walking, we arrived at our campsite for the night where we watched the sun dip behind the mountain peaks and shared a supper of chicken and rice flavoured with cardamom. The post-prandial entertainment was provided by our guides, who treated us to an impromptu song-and-dance routine around the campfire. Exhausted, I slipped off early to my tent. With no light pollution, the clear desert skies were seared with stars, and with the almost biblical sound of panpipes wafting over from the fire, sleep came quickly.

Another hot day was forecast so we rose before dawn once again. By the time we met for a delicious Jordanian breakfast of omelette, flatbread, hummus, honey and yogurt the sun had risen and a pink glow suffused the landscape. By six we were on the move once more. Our walk unfurled ahead of us: ochre hillsides stippled with juniper – the tough, fibrous tree that grows only half an inch a year and was used by the Nabateans to reinforce their buildings against earthquakes.

Our path followed mountain contours made up of layers of rock contorted to almost perpendicular angles by the massive tectonic forces of the Great Rift Valley. The only sounds were the griffon vultures spiralling above, goat bells floating up from the valley below and the happy chatter of my fellow walkers. There was genuine camaraderie as we supported one another through the more challenging climbs, shared life stories and compared blisters during rest stops.

Descending the last slopes, we walked on tracks through sparse barley fields, a reminder that here was the southernmost tip of the Fertile Crescent. This was where human beings first began domesticating grains nearly 12,000 years ago and formed the earliest settled farming communities. Walking through this ancient landscape of semi-nomadic Bedouin encampments, goats nibbling at sparse greenery and signs of Nabatean civilisation scattered all around, you sense the long, enduring history of this land.

The closer we got to Petra, the more clues we unearthed. We stopped to inspect a wine press cut from the famous red rock, still bearing traces of its original plaster coating and one of 47 discovered here. With only 20 per cent of the archaeological site yet excavated, there could be many more. A short, sharp scramble up the side of a wadi took us into Little Petra – the Nabatean caravan station situated a short distance outside the old city centre. Still lined with rock-cut façades, this is where traders on the Spice and Silk Roads would rest their camels and pay the taxes that made Petra rich. From here we were whisked to our desert camp, the hillside beyond decorated with lanterns, where I sunk gratefully into my comfortable bed.

Our final day’s walk took us into Petra proper. Following sandy tracks, we passed the stone age village of al-Beidha, one of the oldest in recorded history where archaeologists have recreated Neolithic-style huts. Wherever we looked now there were signs we were entering the heart of the ancient city. Most travellers in Nabatean times would have entered on paths like this, the famous Siq leading to the Treasury most likely a processional rather than a trading route.

And then, almost without realising it, we were in Petra itself. A climb of 200 rock-cut steps led up to the so-called Monastery, named after the crosses carved inside in Byzantine times. Surrounded by its towering peaks we could see how the city remained hidden from Western eyes for so many centuries, until rediscovered by the Swiss explorer Johann Burckhardt in 1812. Descending 950 more steps – and via a few vertiginous ledges – to the bottom we saw the first signs of Petra’s mass tourism, something that had eluded us for the past three days. There was a real sense of pilgrimage entering Petra on foot. Yes, there were the inevitable crowds, but we soon dived off into the narrow, secretive Wadi al-Mudhlim (“Dark Wadi”), all swirls of red, pink and white rock, bypassing the famous Treasury entirely. My hotel and a hot shower beckoned, and Petra’s masterpiece could wait.

I got up early the next morning to walk down the Siq to the Treasury, before the coaches arrived and while the air was still cool. I arrived just in time to catch the first rays of the sun as they struck the celebrated monument, its façade looking almost as pristine as the day it was carved 2,000 years ago.

Essentials

The Jordan Trail (jordantrail.org) offers information on supported and unsupported hikes along each of the stages of the path. A seven-night fully supported group trip with K E Adventure Travel, including accommodation in campsites and hotels, local English speaking leader, full services during trek, all entrance fees, meals and transfers, starts from £1,099pp.

The best times to walk the trail are spring (March and April) and autumn (October and November), bearing in mind that the north is cooler than the south. Hiking from May to September is not recommended. See the Jordan Trail website for more details on planning your trip.

Royal Jordanian (rj.com) operates daily flights from London Heathrow to Amman, with fares starting at £525. See visitjordan.com for more information on visiting Jordan.