Just down the road from the resorts, and on the coast of the Dead Sea, is the nature reserve of Wadi Mujib. We visited Wadi Mujib not knowing much about it. From what I’d read online, I was expecting a nice walk through a gorge, on one of those elevated walkways, with the option to swim in some of the pools along the way. For the Siq trail, the Visit Jordan site said:
The trail starts at Mujib Adventure Center where you will take the cantilevered walkway and follow the course of the river between the towering sandstone cliffs to the base of a large waterfall. Depending on seasonal rainfall levels, the gorge may contain pools deep enough for swimming. This is an ideal walk to take slowly and enjoy the cool water and shade, especially in the heat of summer.
It wasn’t until we’d gone into the Adventure Center and paid our 21 JOD each that we found out that we would be going into water that could be as deep as 2m.
So naturally, we put most of our belongings, including Hayden’s camera, back in the car, and everything else got put in the dry bag (which we’d later learn was not so dry).
I started off feeling pretty miserable about the whole thing, I was wearing trainers, which were not exactly waterproof, and baggy long length trousers, which were not really adequate for trudging through deep water (they kept inflating!!).
To add to that, I am not the biggest fan of water, and so I did struggle a bit. There was a ladder we had to climb, which had a waterfall crashing down it, and I’m a wuss about getting water in my face.
I was stood by this ladder for so long (letting people go in front of me, obviously) just saying “I can’t do this” over and over again. Thankfully, a guide appeared on the trail and helped pull me up onto the ladder.
This video is my way back down, but you can see the force of that waterfall! I think my face at the end says it all…
After that, I felt more comfortable and actually did enjoy myself. We naturally got a photo together with the waterfall at the end, it was worth the walk.
I did have a moment on the way back, there was a section where we had to lie down and let the current carry us over a ridge which I found very nerve-wracking. So Hayden led the way, and I eventually followed.
Our biggest bug bear is that our dry bag leaked. Like majorly leaked. Everything we’d put in that bag was soaked. Including the contents of my handbag (sorry, but I didn’t want to leave my money and passports in the car boot). We just laid everything out in the boot to dry while we drove, and thankfully everything dried out okay.
It probably wasn’t helped by the fact that we opted against walking back to the start, and instead chose to float along with the current.
All in all though, we both enjoyed it. It was definitely a step out of my comfort zone, but I’d have regretted it if I didn’t do it.
Just dress appropriately for it. I would recommend water shoes, sporty shorts or leggings, and, if you have a trusted dry bag, bring that with you.
