Warning : You SHOULD ask weather forecast informations to your hotel before a hike in a wadi. NEVER hike in wadi if rainfall are expecting during this day or done the last 2 days. Flash floods are really dangerous here, every year, people died in Jordan in flash flood.
Summary:
- Lenght: 6,2 km round trip
- Duration: 2 hours and a half, with a family and a lunch time
- track of the hike (.gpx format) :
- Elevation gain 100m D+. starting point – 351m, maximum elevation – 281m.
- Difficulty : easy, even with young kids. A couple of obstacles (rocks, less than 1 meter high) We had to « withdraw » because of a 2 meters high rock with a small waterfall. Shouldn’t be an issue without any kid…
- Round trip : no, most of the Siq is totally unescapable.
What we liked:
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- a truely magical atmosphere, comparable to the Siq of Petra, but with a water stream in the middle !
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- the colors of the sandstone, the lights
- the quietness – as long as you don’t go there on week end afternoons, as the wadi is very popular amongst jordans.
What we didn’t like:
- So many painted tags and signatures and love declarations on the bottom of the cliffs (written in arabic – but there is suprinsingly a painting of a jewish menorah on a rock at the end) on the first 1500 meters. They will disappear as you walk further into the Siq.
- (updated in April 2019) pollution at the entrance of the wadi, with many picnic waste…Clore your eyes during the first 300 meters or so of the hike. Or, even better, take a trash bag and pick up some trash so that you leave the wadi cleaner than it was before you came in 🙂 .
The debrief:
A new wadi to discover, with a really wonderful ambiance : you feel just as if you were walking in the great Siq of Petra. Plus there is a little stream so that the kids can play watergames on your way in the wadi! 🙂 .
This wadi is also very popular amongst the Jordans, which mean there are good chnces that you meet a lot of people on fridays and saturdays. Thus best is to take half a day off, to be alone wit the Nature and your family.
From our side,we went there a thursday afternoon, and met at a whole only 3 families. When we came back th next saturday, we counted at least 12 cars on the parking lot.
And because a screenshot is worth a thousand words…Please have a look at the following video (in french , but the images know no language..:-) ):
Now that you actually want to go there, here’s some explanation:
The access is quite easy , including for those who don’t own a 4WD car. the wadi is located approx. 2 hours drive from Amman.
If you come from Amman (North), the wadi entrance is located exactly 39 kilometers after the Wadi Mujib bridge. If you come from Aqaba (south), the access is around 2 kilometers after the « ARAB POTASH » factory. The reference point is a white and grey monument located on the western side of the road.
The reference point – towards the Dead Sea
200 m North from this landmark, you take the first car trail you’ll see heading to the East. 600 meters aft, you can park your car into a dust parking lot, clearly identified.
Now let’s walk. 200 meters after the beginning, the wadi turns left, and here’s the first surprise: a big hanging rock above your head.
As of now, the ambiance and the light and the colors will delight you. You will discover a beautiful valley, soon turning into a Siq, while you kids play in the stream (by the way, they WILL get wet, make them wear appropriate shoes or sandals).
light games (beginning of afternoon)
After a pleasant 800 meters walk, you actully enter the Siq:
…and for more than one kilometer, you won’t regret anything, except you’ll find the Siq too short!
And even the rocks and the fauna will be part of the game:
Thank you for following us. Other trek memos to come…Enjoy, share and..comment ! 🙂
12 Comments
Lucie Killen · 7 mai 2019 at 00:37
I just wanted to tell you how much I like your website. Great photos and videos! I’m planning a holiday to Jordan and I came across your site while doing some research on best places to visit. Apart from the classics, I love going to places off the beaten track, without tourists. Your website is by far the best resource I have found, thank you so much for sharing your amazing hikes and tips.
familyinjordan · 7 mai 2019 at 06:27
Lucie,
Thank you very much indeed 🙂 And we apologize for our broken english as it is not our native language, and our translation is probably a bit far from being flawless…Feel free to ask us as many questions if you need further advice ! best, Agnès & Nico.
Bastian · 10 août 2019 at 12:48
Will be going soon
familyinjordan · 11 août 2019 at 10:35
Please telL us about the trash situation at the entrance:-) This wadi is awesome, except the 2 or 3 first hundred meters…as often elsewhere in Jordan : pollution because of uneducated people, just leaving their stuff behind them.
Bastian · 12 août 2019 at 20:41
The further you go the less inscriptions and trash. After this really beautiful and nice shapes and colors
familyinjordan · 3 septembre 2019 at 23:19
thanks for the feedback ! Things will start to improve when they finally start to implement dustbins at the entrance…And that would just be a beginning…
Kris Van den Eynde · 12 octobre 2019 at 17:54
Beautiful site, excellent descriptions. Well done.
We (a belgian family of 4) walked the wadi on September 15.
The wadi is really beautiful indeed, but the walk turned out to be a huge disappointment because of the trash. The situation was much worse than you experienced. There was plastic, leftovers from meals, human feces, entire waste bags for at least 1500m after the entrance. The smell was terrible! Beyond the first rock, it got slightly better. But trash was found up to the point where you (and we) turned back. Sad, sad, sad…
I guess the best time to visit this wadi is right after the winter floods…
(and case you like, we can send you some pictures…).
familyinjordan · 13 octobre 2019 at 07:18
Dear Kris,
thank you for your comments:-) We are really sorry for your bad experience. You are right regarding the winter floods : they are often the best way to clean Dead Sea wadis…I and conveniently shifting the problem to the seabed…We would actually like to get some of your pictures, so that we can convey them to the Jordan Tourism Board . Would you mind to send us a mail through our contact form? You might not be able to attach photos , but we will answer you by mail and then you can send them in the next mail. many thanks !
Wadi Wanderer · 27 juin 2020 at 19:46
Thanks for your inspiration again – Wadi Numeira is great like all the other trips we already made following your advisce! Yesterday we met two other familes also following your track 😉 Just one hint: One should avoid to go on Fridays because on your way back you have to pass along crowds of picknicking people who drove into the siq (!) with their pickups – further than I ever would have imagined…
familyinjordan · 28 juin 2020 at 16:09
Thank you WadiWanderer ! 🙂 Please feel free to share this post with anyone interested. We will soon issue a new post on another wadi (wadi Himara 🙂 ). Take care !
Omar Agha · 29 avril 2023 at 08:56
I am a Jordanian , I was born here , but I have to say your website indeed is the best source of information for hiking and exploring that I found when we ( a family of 3 ) starting taking interest in hiking and exploring our country , you articles are informative and easy to follow and to know what to expect (especially that we have a 5 year old child).
thank you again and sorry everyone for some or ( unfortunately) I should say many Jordanians bad behaviour (trash/ littering /asking for money).
Regards
Meg Jackson · 22 mai 2023 at 01:25
Hi. Thank you for your great blog. How is the trash at Wadi Numeria in 2023? Is it generally safe to leave the car at the entrance while we do the hike?