Day 261 – Madaba to Petra
Road Trip to Petra
Today we decided to stick together once more with our new friends from yesterday’s tour. We all had breakfast and then left Pilgrims Guest House after packing our bags. We used the same driver as yesterday (Day 260), who we had negotiated a price of 70 JOD / $143.65 AUD for the entire car, which was 17.5 JOD / $35.91 AUD per person.
Scenic Views
The first stop was around 30 minutes into our journey, where we asked the driver to stop for us. We could enjoy beautiful views of canyons and a river.
Smiley face traffic lights
Wadi Al Mujib Viewpoint
Our first official stop, was the Wadi Al Mujib Viewpoint. Wadi Al Mujib is a canyon district, that we really want to hike in the future.
Karak Castle
Along the way, our driver told us his “brother” would be bringing some tourists from Petra to Amman. At the carpark of Karak Castle, we will swap vehicles so he can take the tourists back to Amman, and his brother can return to Petra with us. It made sense, and would save them both a return trip, so we agreed.
At the castle, we arrived first. Our driver told us that his brother, who hadn’t arrived yet, would be waiting for us with our bags. We were all very nervous about leaving our bags like this. But we still went to check out the castle.
The castles entrance is included with the Jordan Pass (otherwise 3 JOD / $6.15 AUD per person, I believe). The castle was originally the site of a Moabite Temple. During the crusaders, the castle was built by the Christians to defend the region. After several failed attempts Saladin finally conquered the castle in 1187.
The castle has definitely seen better days. However, what remains is quite impressive and the walls are super thick. The views of the region give it a good tactical advantage. We spent around an hour here before meeting up with the other two travellers at the exit.
While we were waiting, I received a call that my grandmother had passed away…
I did not enjoy the rest of the trip, and I’m sure the entire mood changed.
Dana Biosphere Reserve
Our driver’s brother turned out to be a taxi driver, so the ride was not too bad. We did stop at a view point for the Dana Biosphere Reserve. Here we saw camels in the distance. We went to check them out.
Petra
We arrived in Petra, and out of the four of us, only 1 person had a reservation. Not really in the mood to check many places, the closest hotel was called My Home Petra. We booked for one night. We also booked flights out of Jordan so that we could attend the funeral.