Jordan: Jabal Umm ad Dami

Tags: Asia, Country High Points, Hiking, Jordan, Mountains

The highest peak in Jordan is not Jabal Ram, but the far more remote Jabal Umm ad Dami (1854m) on the border with Saudi Arabia. Fortunately I was aware of that controversy before I arrived in Jordan.

I had no one else to share the costs with on such a customized tour, thus I paid about 200 USD for two days and one night in the desert of Wadi Rum with a guide and his vehicle (an old Nissan Patrol Pickup). But that turned out to be an extremely good value, given all the hours of driving around on sand paths in the desert. We visited more than 10 sites spread around the Wadi Rum desert. The special designed package from Wadi Rum Mountain Guides also included two lunches, one dinner, one breakfast and one night in a Bedouin tent.

Jabal Umm ad Dami was a short and easy hike from the foot of the mountain, about one hour to the top, with a few short breaks in the heat. There are stunning desert views from this mountain!

I did a week of backpacking in Jordan to tick off all the major sights in this magnificent country, including:

-Madaba and Mt Nebo
-Dead Sea
-Kings Highway with vast canyons
-Kakar
-Petra Sandstone City (New 7 Wonders of the World)
-Jebel Haroun (about 1350m), highest mountain in Petra
-Wadi Rum and of course Jabal Umm ad Dami
-Aqaba and the Red Sea
-Amman

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