Treks and Trails of Jordan: Desert

"A few thoughts of Jordan"

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 16:23:00 GMT

Feedback on Jordan Dynamic - a 9 day adventure holiday.

By Elizabeth Shoreland

"On touching down in Amman my perception of Jordon - somewhat naively - was one dominated by deserts, the Rose City and bobbing up and down in the Dead Sea. Granted, some activity would be needed to conquer these well known tourist sites, but on discovering that I was going on an "Active Jordon" trip I certainly felt some trepidation: was I going to be able to master cycling, hiking and camel riding in two short weeks? On reflection this was the best way to get a glimpse into the heart of Jordon: while ensuring that we did not miss the more well known tourist attractions the trip took us off the beaten track and exposed us to different aspects of the country and Jordanian life.

The trip was all go from the begining. We toured the Roman city of Jesrah before taking to our bikes in order to cycle through the northern part of the Jordan Valley with its fertile fields and ancient olive trees. We then headed to the Dead Sea where - just like in the posters - we were able float around, before heading to the Dana Nature Reserve. Our hike in the Dana Nature Reserve provided a great insight in the huge variety of ecological systems that exist in the area and dashed any remaining thoughts I had about Jordon being all deserts.

It was then onto Petra where we were able to marvel at the sheer scale of this city carefully carved into the rock, Petra, however, was full to the brim with tourists, and while it was amazing, it was also fantastic to make our escape to Wadi Rum. I never imagined that a desert could hold so much beauty. The Jebels provided an amazing playground and our host, Salam showed us that life in Wadi Rum was action packed: hiking, rock scrambling, camel riding and not to mention crazy antics by the fire at night.

On leaving Wadi Rum we continued our journey south to the Red Sea. I knew the Red Sea was famous for its technicolour marine life: I was not disappointed. Tropical fish and corals were easily spotted during snorkeling excursions during our lazy afternoon on the beach. The next morning we motored north back to Amman. As we were travelling during the holy month of Ramadan we had decided to head into the city to experience Iftar (the breaking of the fast). In the late afternoon the city appeared to have come to a standstill as people attempted to make it home for Iftar. The temporary noise and chaos of those finally few hours however were worth it simply to experience the evening meal in a local restaurant.

All too soon our trip was over. It had been nine actioned packed days that saw us conquering all sorts of transport modes (even run-away camels) and seeing some of the many beautiful sights of Jordon. More importantly though we had meet a number of Jordanians who had, with unrivalled enthusiasm, shared their country and experiences with us: while I have no photos of that experience, it is inevitably the one that I will remember most vividly."

"I returned quite enthused..."

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 17:28:00 GMT

Would you like to write a testimonial to be published on our blog for other travellers to read?

Richard Soghier:

"its worth redoing. I returned quite enthused, and felt few years younger. Except for the food, the trip was excellent. The bread, and contents of the sandwiches left lot to be desired."

Wadi Ibn Hammad and Karak Castle , 15 August 2008.

more pictures

Thank you for the great trip

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 21:48:00 GMT

by Mark and Kristel
Hi there at Terhaal, We would like to thank you for the great trip we’ve experienced by doing the Terhaal Jordan Remote trip with Salem. We’ve seen the most beautiful places, stayed in the most scenic places (like the Romana camp site and the Feinan Ecolodge) and hiked really flabbergasting routes. Thanks for a great week! Mark and Kristel

wadi al karak adventure

Sun, 18 May 2008 17:13:00 GMT

Click here to view the set of selected photos from our last canyoning adventure to Wadi Al Karak on May 16, 2008.

To all the guests we had: we have really enjoyed your pleasant company. We'd love to read your feedback- by commenting on this post. Your positive notes gives us the motivation to do what we're doing, while the negative ones is what help us evaluate our service and operation, improve, and keep going forward.
Looking forward to see you again.

Best regards,
Terhaal Team

Hiking in wadi Mukheiris

Thu, 08 May 2008 18:49:00 GMT

by Kate Creswell

It was EXCELLENT in every way. Atef was very professional and inspired us with confidence. As we started the walk some soldiers on the hill said that we couldn't go up - but he very calmly and politely persuaded them. He knew the way through the boulders which was not always obvious to us. He was fantastic with the children - encouraging them but also safety conscious - telling them not to go ahead. He even carried my 7 year old over his shoulders like a fireman for the last few minutes because he seemed exhausted.

We loved Wadi Mukheiris - it was perfect for a family - especially that there was a wonderful destination to aim for - and also was uphill on the way (feeling fresh) and downhill on the way back (a bit tired). After the first part by the road (can you persuade the local government to remove the rubbish?) it was then clean which was nice. We saw crabs, frogs and tadpoles. No snakes. Our boys are 8, 7 and 4. It was perfect for our 8 and 7 year olds, and indeed our 4 year old managed completely fine (he loves walking and climbing) - but some 4 year olds might find it too hard. It took us 3 hours up, we spent about 45 mins at the waterfall, and 3 hours back down.

We would very much like to do more adventures like this.

Active Jordan - April 2007

Sun, 22 Apr 2007 02:25:00 GMT

Click here to view the photo collection.

To Mette, Ruth, Sarah, Tanya and Eric, I would like to say thank you for your visit to Jordan. We hope you have enjoyed this trip as much as we have enjoyed running it! Also, thanks for all the constructive feedback and tips that you have given us throughout this trip. We have certainly learnt alot.

Special thanks to Sarah and Mette for all the nice photos!

Active Jordan is an 11 day tour around Beautiful Jordan. What makes this trip special is all the fun activities (mountain biking, camel riding, camping, hiking/scrambling and canyoning) along the diverse lanscape of the country, mixed with spentaneous cultural interaction and all the sighseeing and unique heritage sites. For more information please Click here.

The Royal Wings Magazine Writes About Terhaal

Mon, 15 Jan 2007 14:39:00 GMT

Click on the photo to view the article in pdf format

This is the article which was published about Terhaal's co-founders in the Royal Wings magazine January-February 2007.

This edition of the Royal Wings magazine is distributed onboard all Royal Jordanian flights - the national carrier of Jordan.

Special thanks to Chief Editor Eddie Taylor for his support and nice words.

Terhaal Team