The Kingdom of Jordan has some wonderful natural attractions. Our visit to the Wadi Mujib Adventure Centre was one of our highlights of our trip to Jordan. The Wadi Mujib canyon involved a water canyon hike through deep canyons in a shaded water trail. Read on to see how the experience of water canyoning was in Jordan.

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This post is one chapter on our trip to Jordan, Israel and France during the end of the pandemic. This trip was enhanced through Marriott Bonvoy Elite Status, Hertz Gold Plus Rewards and Alaska Mileage Plan. For more information on how this trip was booked, please see our trip introduction here. For other parts of the trip, please see this index.

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Top 5 Tips for a Day of Canyoning – The Siq Trail Hike at Wadi Mujib, Mujib Biosphere Reserve, Jordan

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During our visit throughout Jordan, we were amazed at the number of attractions that the country had to offer. One of the attractions we found pretty amazing was The Siq trial located at the Wadi Mujib Adventure Centre.

Why Visit Waji Mujib?

The Kingdom of Jordan is full of interesting geographic features and attractions. While I was looking for neat things to do, MrsWT73 and I are always into eco-adventure attractions.

The Mujib Biosphere Reserve had a number of hiking trials that are closely situated to the Dead Sea Resort areas of Jordan. After a little research, I located the Siq Trail, which was an easy level half day hike from the trailhead.

At 410 meters below sea level, the Mujib Biosphere Reserve is the lowest nature reserve on Earth. The breathtaking scenery and the challenge of negotiating Mujib’s fast-flowing rivers make the Reserve one of Jordan’s most popular natural attractions. The canyons contain over three hundred species of plants, and ten species of carnivores.

The views promised to be quite spectacular. With the trail running through the depth of the canyon, it was also an adventure that could also be done in the middle of the day with the shade offering some protection from the hot sun.

Getting to Wadi Mujib:

The Mujib Biosphere Reserve was located about thirty minutes away from the Dead Sea Marriott Resort and Spa. Having arrived into the country the night before, we were self driving to the Mujib Biosphere Reserve. It’s about a thirty minute drive from the Dead Sea Resorts.

While there are tour groups that offer excursions to the Siq Trail at Wadi Mujib, the easiest way is likely to self drive there on your own. Public transit options remain limited in the area,

We arrived to the Welcome Centre and parked in the gravel parking lot. By way of schedule, we ended up doing an afternoon hike at Wadi Mujib. The Siq Trail at the Mujib Biosphere Reserve is only open in the summer months between March – October due to canyon water levels. In the winter months, the water levels rise which makes the passageway impassible.

Getting back to the hike, it’s also worth noting that the Wadi Mujib Adventure Centre closes at 3 PM, with all day visitors expected to be out at (soft) 5 PM. If you’re a sleeping in type, or someone doing this destination on the way to Petra, don’t arrive to late otherwise you’ll end up being disappointed.

We did not need a reservation to hike the Siq Trail. We turned up at the Mujib Rental Centre. As a late afternoon arrival, we had no issues locating parking. After parking the car, we paid our trail entrance fee of 21 JOD ($30 USD) per person. The entry fee is not included in the Jordan Pass.

The trail entrance fee included a mandatory life jacket. We were also required to sign a waiver; something that I hadn’t experienced much in Arab countries.

What to Pack:

The Siq Trail at the Mujib Biosphere is a wet hiking trail. An important, but sometimes overlooked fact, is that the trail runs through a river bed. The depth of the river bed, is up to neck deep at points. With both hands being used to scale ropes, ladders and lines, unless you have a dry bag, you’ll likely get your electronics wet.

If you’re bringing any type of camera or smart phone, make sure you bring a waterproof bag or full dry bag. Dry bags’ are available to rent at the Mujib Adventure Centre. We packed and brought a wet bag with us, and put a Digital Single Lens Reflex Nikon Camera in it. We used the wet bag’s attached shoulder strap, which is an essential addition to any trip into the Wadi.

I would also recommend packing (and wearing) a bathing suit and upper body rash wear for warmth. While I hiked the trail using Teva Sandals, the current often tried to blow them off. Make sure you have good sturdy footwear that can get completely soaked.

Hiking the Siq Trail at Wadi Mujib:

We set out along the Siq Trail. This required moving along the Siq Trail waterway through some fairly stony shallow waters.

The waterway through the Siq Canyon started off pretty shallow. The water ways were ankle deep, making the views upwards towards. Despite being in the shade, the canyon had pretty inspiring views.

The water started to get a little deeper as we moved through the canyon. Our walk was about two kilometres up the Siq river bed. The depth of the river was very shallow at the start, but then it got substantially deeper. It was up to my neck for a 6ft 2 inch person and it was completely underwater for MrsWT73 as a 5ft 3 inches female.

During our journey up, it was a fairly physical experience. We had ropes to pull ourselves along or a swim if there was no rope available. We also had several steel ladders of about 10 – 12 meters to climb, some with rushing water. There were a few mandatory “on rock” slides on the way down that have the potential to have you completely submerged on landing.

We eventually made it to the end of the trail at the Siq waterfall. We were treated to a pretty good waterfall that cascaded around the canyon. Being that we set out towards the end of the day, we pretty much had the place to ourselves.

After wrestling a few ropes and ladders, we were pretty knackered at the end of the climb. The great news is that you can just flop out in the lazy river and cool off.

With the highlight of the end of trail waterfall complete, we wandered back down towards the trail head. Being the end of the day, the trail was pretty deserted.

Eventually, we made our way back to the canyon trail head. With dusk settling, it made for some peaceful views along the last hours of daylight. With all the posted lifeguards gone, we pretty much had the whole place to ourselves.

We would end up departing the Wadi Mujib trail for the Petra Marriott Hotel by car. The Siq trail was a rewarding and fulfilling experience.

Top 5 Tips for Hiking the Siq Trail:

Completing the trail, this brings me to my top 5 tips for completing the Siq trail:

–Bring Solid Footwear: As a result of fast moving current, my Teva Sandles frequently started floating off. This was a bit distracting so make sure you bring solid footwear.

–Pack Water in a Packable Container. I easily lost my bottle of water which was stuffed into a pocket within the first twenty minutes of hiking. Pack a bottle of water away in your dry bag as the current will take away much of anything not tied down.

–Don’t forget to look up: One of the greatest parts of the Wadi Mujib is the canyon itself. There is something to be said for floating down the canyon looking up at the canyon walls.

–Be Prepared for a Physical Day: The canyon hike involves pulling your body weight and at times supporting yourself as you dangle on steel ladders. There are a few mandatory “on rock” slides on the way down, so you’ll need some athletic ability of attempting the trail.

–Be Prepared for some Minor Bumps and Scrapes: The water had a pretty strong pressure in portions. This led to some flailing limbs as we were battered around the canyon. At the end of the day, I had a few knee scrapes and a few sore muscles. It would have been helpful to have a first aid kit or other bandages available for the drive onwards.

After our trail hike, we headed on downward to The Petra Marriott Hotel for the next chapter of our adventure.

My Thoughts on Canyoning the Siq Trail:

Canyoning through the Siq Trail was a pretty worthwhile experience. The canyon walls were pretty special along with the eco nature of this journey made our trip to Wadi Mujib all the more interesting. The trail is highly recommended and I’d love to return one day.

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If you been canyoning through the Siq Trail, do you have any tips to share?

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