Hiking memo : discover Wadi Himara and its (almost ) highest waterfall of Jordan

(french version of this post available here)

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.

All our videos available on  our YouTube channel #familyinjordan 🙂  

Summary:

• Lenght:  2 options . 5,3 km back and forth if you include the visit of a small Siq), 4 km otherwise; 
• Duration:  2 to 3 hours with your family, including lunch
• Track of the hike , gpx format (wikiloc) :
  • https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/wadi-himara-24769120
• Elevation: +150m  D+. Start – 384 m, end  -221m.
• Difficulty : easy, even if you are with yound kids, until you reach a 4 meters high waterfall with a small pool below. very goo condition required afterwards, as there is a knotted rope to climb; 
• Round: yes. Hard to climb up out of the Wadi- watch out when there are risks of rain, even if this wadi is wide enough not to be too dangerous. 

What we liked:

• • like other wadis wih a stream, you can walk and have fun with your kids on your way up to the waterfall; 

• • an unexpected dead-end of the wadi, provided you can cross the first obstacle of 4m;

• • Beautiful rock colors of rocks (ocher, blue, red, gray, yellow), and many touches of green, some freshwater crabs …

• … with, finally, the discovery of the highest accessible waterfall of Jordan (80m), in a deep wadi bottom surrounded by cliffs.

What we didn’t like:

• For those who can’t climb the first waterfall (4 meters high), wadi himara is a wadi just like another;
• It is too difficult and dangerous to access the top of the waterfall by the bottom of the wadi ( exposed + friable rock)
• … and  “actual” Jordan’s highest waterfall is just above it. It is invisible from below. It is … a little over 80m …

The debrief:

A wadi close to Amman: only a 1 hour drive to admire (from below) the highest waterfall in Jordan, one must admit that it is at least worth thinking about. And for those who want to escape for a few hours from the luxury hotels of the Dead Sea, access to wadi  Himara is less than 10 minutes drive from the hotel zone :-). So think different, think Nature ! 🙂

Wadi Himara : access, itinerary, the variant and the 2 waterfallas – french version

First of all, the access to wadi Himarais easy: going south on the road to the Dead Sea, just park at a concrete bridge, located exactly 800 m after the junction road Aqaba – Ma road ‘in (of course, no need for 4X4).

The first part of the hike is pleasant, easy, punctuated by beautiful colors of rocks and many plants. The brook is not dangerous – except flash flood -, and will satisfy the children …

After about a kilometer of walking, you will have the opportunity to discover a small Siq- 400 meters long (orange circle on the plan above). It is normally dry. There is nothing to see at the edn (dead-end), except a flight of natural steps about 15 meters high.

Access to the small Siq (easy climb of 4m)

end of the Siq (flight of steps)

If you make this loop, it will take you less than 30 minutes. Then, the main wadi progresses slowly, and after less than 700 m, you will find a first waterfall of about 4m. The trouble starts here :-).

Why that?

Because to overcome this obstacle, you will not always have the choice of weapons. Have a close look on the 2 photos below 🙂 (photos taken at one month intervals). something is missing on the right picture, huh?

the deluxe version: a knotted rope AND a ladder

the standard version : a knotted rope..and that’s it

And if, really, you don’t succeed, you have one last solution, less physical and more technical- reserved for those who have notions of climbing.

Step back from the waterfall for about twenty meters (pic below). Look to your right (south-east), and you will see, like Indiana Jones discovering the temple of the last knight crusader, a path to theSaint Graal (follow the direction indicated by the finger)

And it is only here, after this small difficulty, that you will finally see appearing the “almost highest waterfall” of Jordan, ex-aequo with another which is in the upper part of wadi Himara.

Please visit and follow our YouTube channel, in you want more images of this waterfall from above 🙂

The return to the starting point will be easy, descending 150 meters smoothly, and in less than 45 minutes.

Thank you for following us. Other ideas for trekking and hiking to come …

And by then, you can find here our page dedicated to our different ideas of trekking. Enjoy, share and..comment ! 🙂 .