10 Great Places to Horse Ride- #3 Jordan
Jordan's Wadi Rum Desert, called The Valley of the Moon, tops our charts for its spectacular scenery, Bedouin culture and desert wildlife.
Located in southern Jordan, near the border with Saudi Arabia, the Wadi Rum Desert is one of the most beautiful deserts that I've ever visited and with the Bedouin as my guide, I found new appreciation for desert wildlife. We rode through large sandstone canyons, finding shade where possible, and encountering a rare sighting of Jordan's national bird, the Sinai Rosefinch.
We also visited petroglyphs. According to UNESCO, Wadi Rum is home to "25,000 rock carvings with 20,000 inscriptions, trace the evolution of human thought and the early development of the alphabet."
Many people know of the Wadi Rum from the 1962 epic film “Lawrence of Arabia,” as much of it was filmed in the Wadi Rum. I did sort of feel like Lawrence as my Bedouin guide, Atallah, and I took off at a canter on some more compact sand. I was in the lead with Atallah, who is also a world-class endurance rider, using all of my strength to keep my Arabian horse Chams in check while we cantered between two large sandstone rock formations. There are only certain places where the sand allows for faster riding, so we took advantage.
Learn more about how you can take a riding vacation in Jordan's Wadi Rum through EquitrekkingTravel.com, dedicated to exceptional equestrian vacations.
