Summit – 1,854m.a.s.l. (6,083ft)

Climbing Season – All year

Time of year climbed – September

Duration – 2 Hours

Jebel Umm ad Dami, Jordan’s highest peak, might not be the first thing that springs to people’s mind when planning a trip to the country of Petra, Wadi Rum, the Dead Sea, the Red Sea, and so on. But really it should be up there with Jordan’s best highlights.

An enjoyable, relatively short, hike to the summit, with some light scrambling involved, offers incredible panoramic views of the desert, where you can see all the way to Saudi Arabia.

Check out my 10 day Jordan itinerary here!

Preparing to Climb Jebel Umm ad Dami

Booking a climb

Getting out to the base of Jebel Umm ad Dami requires a 40km drive (45 mins) through the desert from most Wadi Rum camps.

I would recommend speaking to the camp where you are staying first to see if they operate tours and have availability. Most camps will, the mountain is non-technical and a fairly short hike. I stayed at the Jamal Rum camp and sorted the hike through them.

Failing that you can book through several tour sites online, such as Get Your Guide.

What to Bring

• Water! True to it’s reputation, the sun is hot. Make sure your well hydrated before setting off, and take 2-3l of water to stay that way.
• There’s no shade in sight on the climb so make sure you’ve got sunscreen.
• Take a sunhat for added protection
• Whatever time of year you go have a windbreaker with you
• Wear a good pair of hiking boots. You will be hiking over rocky terrain, which can be loose in places. Last thing you want to do is roll your ankle.
• Bring additional layers if your climbing in the cooler winter months, so you can layer on and off as appropriate to the conditions.

The Climb

After arriving at our Wadi Rum camp, it was a quick change of clothes and straight into the 4×4 to head out to the base of Jebel Umm ad Dami.

The desert sands always look as if they would make for a nice smooth ride. They don’t. Sitting in the back of the open air 4×4 was like being in a live game of Buckaroo. Any sleepiness was thoroughly shaken out of us, and after a bone-rattling 45 minute drive, we arrived at the trailhead.

The climb was relatively straight forward taking only 2 hours or so up and down. There’s no markers so our guide led the way, racing ahead in his flip flops. There are some fun, fairly easy scrambling sections and overall the climb isn’t too physically demanding. The biggest challenge, particularly in the summer months, is the sun beating down from the cloudless sky above. I felt a bit like a jacket potato in a microwave by the time we reached the summit, developing a very much new found empathy for spuds.

On the summit the views are incredible, there is a seemingly endless expansion of mountains and desert intertwined all around. It’s a great place to relax and have a few snacks. It’s also so quiet and peaceful, it feels a million miles away from the hustle and bustle of Amman, and even Petra.

After some time taking it all in, we headed back down the mountain, and back in the 4×4 to camp.

A great day out and another country highpoint ticked off the list.