Wadi Rum, Protected desert valley in Aqaba Governorate, Jordan
Wadi Rum is a sandstone and granite desert valley in Aqaba Governorate, Jordan, covering 720 square kilometers and containing red sand dunes, natural rock arches, and steep mountains. The highest formations reach 1750 meters (5741 feet), while the rock walls frame flat plains of fine sand.
Human settlement in Wadi Rum dates back about 10,000 years to the Ice Age, when springs and a temperate climate supported hunters, herders and farmers. The Nabataeans left a temple, and in the 1990s archaeologists Dinin Dudley and Barbara Reeves of Queen's University surveyed and restored its ruins. Local Bedouins joined the Arab Revolt in 1916 and fought alongside T. E. Lawrence, who crossed the valley repeatedly and described it in Seven Pillars of Wisdom.
Bedouins from the Zalabieh tribe still live in tents at the edge of the valley and offer tea while telling stories about camels and navigating through sand. Visitors can join camel races or watch bread being baked directly in hot sand.
The valley is reached from Aqaba through organized tours offering hiking, rock climbing, jeep rides, or overnight stays in desert camps. Mornings bring cooler temperatures for walking, while afternoon light shows the red rocks at their best.
In 2019 the International Astronomical Union named a star WASP-80 "Petra" and its orbiting planet "Wadi Rum". The valley's red sandstone and granite also drew the makers of The Martian, who used it as a stand-in for the surface of Mars.
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