An interesting place to cool off in Jordan is the Mujib Nature Reserve, where you can hike and float in the lowest nature reserve on earth. The lowest-altitude nature reserve in the world is located within the Wadi Mujib gorge, which enters the Dead Sea nearby. I took on this hike (that we also filmed!) with local Ibrahim Al-Wahash and a guide who specializes in canyon treks. We started near a spot where we could look out to the Dead Sea on one side and over a beautiful series of valleys or wadis on the other.
Wadi is an Arabic word referring to a valley or stream bed that fills with water at different times during the year. These wadis hold streams that extend to the Dead Sea. It was hot and dry hiking the trails in Wadi Mujib, so I was definitely ready to hit the wet part of this hike. Once you’re in… you’re in, because with the currents, it would definitely be hard to turn back on this hike. We hiked, floated and swam for quite some time amid beautiful water pools, careening down natural waterslides and reaching the mother of all waterfalls, which we then had to rappel down to reach the next part of our canyon hike.
If you’re planning on hiking here, be prepared to get wet and I mean really wet. Trust me, it’s refreshing after the hike to get here. Being from a beach town myself, I would categorize this hike as the coolest, nature-made lazy river in which I’ve ever had the pleasure of relaxing. It’s also like a giant playground with natural rock slides and a little like a spa with water jet massagers. It’s definitely a rush. Watch the video and you’ll see why.
