Combining startling landscapes, action-filled desert adventures and cities both ancient and modern, Jordan has never been more appealing for British travellers, says Joel Porter. On some occasions, we earn revenue if you click the links and book, but we never allow this to affect our coverage.
As two lines of traffic going in opposite directions cause a human roadblock, a French tour guide volunteers himself to help direct people in and out, holding one queue while another is freed up. Much like Indy, she hates snakes. Easy — if we ever get out of this bloody dessert. The amount of rubbish is shocking though, with everything from plastic bottles to old bits of lunch thrown against the rocks. Wadi Rum is supposed to be like Mars — but perhaps in , after humans have arrived and spoilt it a bit.
Still, we happily spend the afternoon whizzing around in a pick-up truck, jumping off rocks, rolling down sand dunes and hanging out with thirsty camels. While the headline sites such as the Treasury this time definitely recognisable from Indiana and the Monastery come complete with cafes and free wifi sponsored by Hyundai, we found we had some of the smaller tombs and temples blissfully all to ourselves. With only 25 rooms, limited electricity the place is lit entirely by candles at night and patchy wifi, it maintains a definite off-grid feel, which comes as a relief after the noise and crowds of Petra.
A stay at Feynan includes all meals plus several daily activities, such as guided hikes around the Dana Reserve. We set off on an afternoon walk along a dried-up river bed, passing nothing more than goats and the odd tree — oh and a huge hyena, one of the many that can be found in the reserve, along with wolves and other rare creatures.
As the sun begins to go down our guide takes us to watch the sunset from a high vantage point before we return for dinner, a big buffet of fresh salads and vegetables that are all grown locally.
