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 flood is really dangerous here, every year, people died in Jordan in flash flood.
In our series « wadis around the Dead Sea », we recently discovered wadi Assal. 120 kms from Amman and 2 hours drive, this beautiful wadi is really worth being visited. It is varied (siq, waterfall, beautiful rocks …) and its respectable length (5-6 kms) justify a day – hike, complete with a picnic and water games for the kids.
Isolated and clean, it shall be considered as the little brother of Wadi al Hasa, on which we already wrote a hiking memo, under the name « and a river runs through it » 🙂 . But it does have other strong points, such as its beautiful waterfalls, its safe access for children, and its colorful rocks.
Whether you live in Amman, or stay in the Sweimeh hotels resort, or just passing by between the Dead Sea and Wadi Araba, give wadi Assal a chance, you will not regret!
In video:
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Summary:
🚩🏁 : 31.19419345259831, 35.53967369271436
🚙 🚕 🚍: from Amman, 2 hours drive to the car park, on a gravel road 500 m east from Route 65. The trail leading to it is practicable by all types of cars – no 4 WD required. For public transport and taxis, the exact drop off point is the sign « Aqaba 210 kms ».
👩👩👦👦 😊😊 : ( all ages). All right, your kids will have fun in wadi Assal. As soon as you have passed the first kilometer, they will be delighted. Just be advised that you need to walk approximately 4.5 kms before reaching the 2 nice waterfalls… and thus , you’ll have to walk back from there afterwards (that’s obviously another 4.5 kms ).
⏱ : from 3h30 to 4h30, counting the breaks . It can last longer, depending on the water games you or your kids will play to….
⚠️ : besides the usual flash-flood issue, 2 kinds of risks:
- 🧗♂️: a (limited) risk of falling from the 2 waterfalls (2 to 4 meters): you might want to avoid that by supervising the children. Also, beware of the overhangs along the way: do not stay or rest there for long breaks (friable rock);
- 🌡️: high temperature, like all wadis around the Dead Sea. At the incredible altitude of -400 meters, it is kind of hot in summer…So make sure you take enough water;
📐 : about 100 meters of positive elevation;
📏 : only one possible route, which extends for about 5 kms. Beyond, it is possible to continue by walking in the growing vegetation in the wadi, but without real added value shortly after the waterfalls.
The ups:
- ➕ A very clean wadi, probably thanks to its isolation and the distance to cover before reaching the waterfalls: a real and genuine pleasure!
- ➕ Varied landscapes, with 4 successive sequences: a wet wadi with beautiful slate slabs, then a nice Siq, then the waterfalls and water sources, and finally a green, lush vegetation;
- ➕ Convenient for the day from Amman or the Sweimeh Hotel Zone.
The downs:
- ➖ To quibble: the first kilometer, at the end of which you will pass irrigation pipes, is not exactly sumptuous. But you will leave it behind you after only 20 minutes…
Tips of Family in Jordan
- 💚 Your car will probably be the only one in the mini car park, just next to a 90 ° angle of the gravel road. If you see a Bedouin, just engage the conversation and let him know that you’re going for a hike!
- 💚 wadi Assal is only 5 kms away from another very pleasant spot: magnificent wadi Numeira (also called wadi Inmira). Discover them both in the same day is feasible, if you get up early. ! Read more info about wadi Numeira in this article.
- 💚 From Wadi Assal, you can also end your day discovering the secret spots of the Dead Sea, which are only 15 minutes away by car.
The debrief
The start of the hike runs along a long irrigation pipe for about a kilometer. You will then see the remains of an old concrete dam, almost completely gone. Then begins a path on a beautiful slate and sandstone background, on which flows a beautiful stream. At kilometer 2.5, you will enter a small Siq, which then widens into a beautiful valley dotted with colorful rocks. Around kilometer 4.5, two beautiful waterfalls will unveil to your eyes … The wadi is then extended by vegetation gradually becoming increasingly dense … It’s time to turn around!
Everywhere along the hike, you can cool off with the stream, which never disappears under the rock or sand.
- Envie d’autres wadis? Vous pouvez toujours retrouver l’ensemble de nos idées trek et rando regroupées içi sur notre blog de voyage 🙂
- Trouvez le guide voyage fait pour vous et la littérature sur la Jordanie. Nous avons fait ici une critique de tous les livres disponibles pour mieux connaître le milieu local: procurez-vous ceux adaptés à vos besoins depuis ce blog, il n’y a pas de surcoût par rapport à Amazon😉 .
Please hike responsibly : collect all your trash before leaving, in any circumstances. And even better, on your way back, fill up your own trash bag with the rubbish you spot on the ground 😉 .
2 Comments
Iwanow · 13 octobre 2019 at 09:15
Hello, we have 2 girls : 4 and 7 years old.
What do you advice? Wadi numeira or wadi assal?
Thank you!
familyinjordan · 13 octobre 2019 at 13:04
Hello ,
I’d say Wadi Assal is way longer & larger : to fully appreciate it (there is a « tunnel », a siq…), you’ll have to walk at least 3-4 kms one way. The 4yo girl might be impressed by the water. But it is great.
Wadi Numeira is smaller, easier, very enjoyable even for young kids. We recently received a disappointing comment regarding the amount trash inside (the first big rains will flush eveything, but until then it will still be dirty)…Please let us know how you enjoyed it, if you choose to hike this one 🙂