Hiking memo : Discover Wadi Ghuweir in Dana Biosphere Reserve, with its Siq and its hanging garden…

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.

Wadi Ghuweir is a must in Dana. It is one of the most beautiful, longest and most varied wadis of the region, or even of the country. It is thus a great alternative to the (too much?) well-known « Dana Valley », whose hike is certainly pleasant, but without Siq, without hanging garden, without a hanging rock, without creek …

While hiking in Wadi Ghuweir, you will most likely be alone, in a great environment, sometimes mineral, sometimes green. And above all, by walking in this showpiece, you will probably feel this sensation that every rock, every crevice, every elbow of the valley, will reveal to you other splendors … See more here:

all our videos are displayed on our YouTube #familyinjordan channel:-)  

En résumé:

🚩🏁  : 30°35’48.7″N 35°33’59.2″E , 30.596855, 35.566446 , link Google Maps here.

👩‍👩‍👦‍👦   :  😐 . For the descent as for the ascent, plese pay attention to the difficulties mentioned in the film. A rope or a strap is required for young children or adults to be assisted.

⏱  :   between 4 hours (adults fit) and 8 hours with family, either you choose the one way to Feynan, or the round trip « car park – wadi ghuweir.

⚠️  :   ➕➕ . The few technical difficulties and the length of the trail might encourage some hikers to take a guide. We think that it is not necessary as long as you feel confident enough. So we encourage you to watch the video from our YouTube channel to get a clear idea. And please, just feel free to ask us questions if any doubt remains! 🙂  

📐 :   until Finan : 372m of negative elevation. By walking only half way, 150m of negative elevation. Start point is 637m above sea level .

 📏 :   2 options : 

• If you choose the « one way » option : 15 km from the departure car park to Finan. You will  have to find a way to get your vehicle left up, or get it down by a local driver (rates around 45 to 50 JOD, depending on your negotiating skills with your hotel or camp);
• If you choose the « round trip » option : just walk back to the car park whenever you want. The first 7 kilometers of the wadi are the most beautiful, which ultimately gives a respectable 14 km hike. Keep in mind that you will have to go back some technical difficulties of wadi (see film), and that, if you have kids, they will most likely feel tired by then…:-) 

The ups:

• • A splendid wadi far from everything.  An atmosphere (light, colors) changing with the course of the sun in the sky;

• • A wide variety of landscapes and ambience (Siq, hanging gardens, stream …),

• • Water, stream, frsh water crabs … fun for the kids and refreshing for the grown-ups!

• Stop a moment when you are under the hangin rock (3 km) … You just can’t miss it. Raise your eyes, observe the stuck branches and rocks almost inlaid between the rock and the Siq … And imagine that during winter, this bucolic little stream turns into a 15 meters high flash flood! 

The downs:

• Unpleasant spray-paintings  recently multiplying in the wadi (last visit in July 2018). Symbols of WiFi, antennas painted on the rock … Hopefully, the next winter and its powerful floods should be able to sand the stone, and clean these horrors.
• This is not a « down », but a question of access for young kids or some adults. Between the 2nd and the 4th kilometers, you will find 3 obstacles which can put some hikers in difficulty (rocks and walls of 2m50 high)
• This wadi is dangerous in winter during the rains (late Oct – early April), but no one will forbid you access … Be responsible! ;-). Flash floods are deadly, especially in middle-east.

The debrief:

Get access to the wadi  from Showbak, about 30 minutes drive. The main road turns into a track for a few hundred meters, but it does not require the use of a 4 WD (as of July 2018). Just enter the coordinates listed at the beginning of the article or reference « wadi ghuweir » in your browser, and you can not miss the spot (see ⬆⬆) .

Just before the stream, there is a small dirt parking. No particular security instructions. You might meet bedouins, whether they are sheperds or poachers (or both 🙂  ) . Make sure that you have told in your hotel/camp where you went, especially if you intend to leave your car on the car park for the night (bivouac in the wadi, or round-trip to Finan with overnight there…). If you don’t, Rangers could search for you, presuming the car abandoned …

Car park next to the wadi

Walking in this wadi, you will discover four distinct parts, each of them characterized by a unique atmosphere and light.

• from the car park to the 2nd kilometer: the wadi is wide, open and sunny, filled with flowering laurels, acacias ….
• between km 2 and 4, you will enter in the Siq, whose height ends up reaching theSiq of Petra. The few obstacles are concentrated in this part.  But open your eyes and your ears : red rocks, ocher rocks, hanging rock, shades and light …. Your senses will appreciate! 🙂
• between km 4 and 7, the wadi opens again, and its walls become literally green: algae over 3 meters high, ferns, hanging palms,  drop by drop cascade …. Surely the gardens of Babylon were quite alike! 🙂
• after km 7, the wadi widens further, and you will enter a arid and hot area, which will take you to the ecolodge of Finan if you choose the first option. This last section can be challenging in hot weather (provide sufficient water ..) and it is much more mineral than the first three ones. Again, if you have young kids, anticipate their tiredness!

More details available on our video :-).

Some images

blue, ocher, grey

goats just climbing everywhere

Approaching the Siq

freshness and hanging garden

Do you like our articles, our videos? leave us a little 👍 at the end of the article, and even a second 👍 on YouTube, we’d be pleased ! 🙂

• Do you want to discover other wadis? other suggestions available here on this blog !
• You are about to visiting Dana? Ever thought of visiting Shobak castle? see here the surprise hidden in this castle !
• And sometimes, things just don’t happen as they should….Discover here how to get (very) unlucky in Dana !