Wet and Wild in a Gorgeous Gorge: Wadi Mujib, Jordan

May 01, 2024

Wet and Wild in a Gorgeous Gorge: Wadi Mujib, Jordan

I’m not really an adventurous sort. I’m actually exceptionally cautious, as a rule. Don’t like doing things that might damage me. I tended to be an indoor child, doing stuff like drawing and watching costume dramas on TV. However, I have dipped my toe in the water now and again as an adult (late developer, that’s what it is).

When I visited Jordan, enroute to the Dead Sea (very odd, very salty; no pruning to your fingers, and, try as I might, I couldn’t sink, so I looked like a flabby pink stranded beetle lying on my back in the water), I did a little bit of a trek in the Mujib Nature Reserve. It’s the lowest nature reserve in the world (410m below sea level), and there are a number of guided trails you can follow through the beautiful sandstone Wadi Mujib Gorge.

A reasonable level of fitness is required, as part of the trek involves negotiating large rocks and using ropes, as well as swimming. I did more paddling than swimming, but then, I am lazy. There were one or two moments when I thought, ‘Crikey, I’m not sure I will be able to do this!’, but you get plenty of help from the guides.

Obviously, you do need to wear clothes suitable for this, i.e. ones you don’t mind getting soaked, and shoes appropriate for walking in rivers. I note from the photos that I managed to keep my dangly earrings on. That’s ‘cause I’m a classy bird. Or more likely I just forgot to remove them. I brought a waterproof bag with me for things like my camera and phone, which worked well. As you can see in one of the pictures, I was given a life jacket, just in case!