Wadi Mujib Canyon Hike in a Life Jacket

We hired a car and a driver one day to do a hike in the Wadi Mujib Biosphere Reserve.  It was quite a long drive, as it was halfway between Madaba and Karak. The Wadi Mujib is a series of canyons, made by rainfall in the highlands that flows to the Dead Sea and cutting through 1200 meters of altitude from the desert plateau down to the Dead Sea. It is often called Jordan's Grand Canyon, which is a well earned name.Note: The arabic word wadi refers to either a valley or a watercourse (often refers to dry or seasonal waterbeds).

We elected to do the Siq Trail, the only trail that does not require a guide. It is about a two hour return hike in water all the way through the Mujib gorge past towering sandstone cliffs and over waterfalls, with wading and/or swimming required. Life jackets are mandatory. It was strange hiking in a life jacket.

The hike was fun and largely uneventful, until the last waterfall, which had a combination of strong current and deep water over rocks!  On the way back, Dorte and the camera went under here! Dorte was happy to be wearing a life vest, which largely protected her from the impact against the rocks. The waterproof bag saved the camera! Dorte found it a little bit scary!

We had to use the ropes to get up over the waterfall; it required all of our strength, and we were happy to see the final waterfall and the halfway point of the hike. 

We really enjoyed this day, and it was amazing doing all the hike in water. It reminded Andy of his childhood in Newfoundland, where he mostly played outdoors and often hiked through streams/canyons/cliffs and waterfalls to get to that secret fishing spot!