A Guide to Canyoning in Wadi Mujib

Entry & Timings

· It’s 23 JD per person for non-Jordanians, and you can pay for entry at the Wadi Mujib Adventure centre with cash or card.

· Wadi Mujib is not included on the Jordan Pass, the government run ticket which wavies visa fees and includes entry to lots of tourist attractions. It will save many of you quite a bit of money, but we recommend you read our Jordan Pass review first.

· We had our own 10 litre Ultradry bag in Wadi Mujib to store our phone + camera.

· Advance booking or reservation is not required, but you may have to wait before entry is permitted due to a maximum capacity of 100 to 150 people being permitted in the canyon. This is more likely an issue on Fridays + Saturdays, or if you arrive later in the day.

· No guide is required, and under-18s are not permitted.

· The whole Siq Trail experience takes 2-3 hours, and we recommend doing it in the morning, then heading off for lunch then Dead Sea swimming, Mount Nebo, and / or Madaba.

Ability & Safety Concerns

Now for the serious part.

Most of you will love it and have a lot of fun, but some of you may be a little concerned about whether The Siq Trail poses a little too much of a challenge.

You do require a bit of upper body strength and moxie, and a calm head if you get stuck on a rock or can’t quite reach a rope. All of it’s very manageable, but one or two of the rock-clambering ascents can be a little problematic – Andrew had to help Emily up on one section, where an older French women had already really struggled twice to ascend and required two men to help – whilst the slide down the rocks won’t be for everyone.

The trail remains self-guided, but several safety changes introduced in 2019 means there are now three attendants along the trail to assist where needed. Their help is essential in certain parts, as your instinctive reaction may not be to slide or put your foot in the right place, thereby making things much more difficult: if they tell you to slide, slide!! Guides were not available for hire when we visited, but this tour does include the option of your drive joining you as a guide through the water.

The water level varies throughout the season: in May it came up to our necks at a few points, but not in any way which posed a concern.

Those with little to no swimming ability, or uncomfortable in water, should consider how much they’ll enjoy it. However, you don’t actually need to swim at any part, you’re mostly waist deep or less, and the life jackets do maintain your buoyancy.

If you’re very unfit or lack mobility, or this sort of thing is very far out of your comfort zone, then perhaps give it a miss and put the 21 JD elsewhere.

That being said, we saw all shapes, sizes, and ages. If in doubt, we reckon you can go about 2/3 of the way toward the waterfall without getting into too much difficulty. If you really struggle on the first ascent up the rocks, then you can always choose to wait or turn back there.

Either way, we recommend not doing Wadi Mujib alone or at least making sure you’re around others on the challenging parts.

The biggest risk is slipping on the rocks and injuring yourself or banging your head, with entry / exit from the canyon challenging and suitable medical care facilities quite a while away. Flash flooding and water levels are obviously a concern too, but it’s the responsibility of the Centre to ensure conditions are suitable for travellers to venture out in the first place.

We strongly recommend having suitable travel insurance before you visit Jordan, but especially if you’re undertaking wet canyoning in Wadi Mujib. Note that some standard insurance policies will exclude canyoning like this as an activity, meaning you may have to include it as an ‘add-on’ or buy a more suitable policy.

We’re insured with TrueTraveller on their Adventure Pack travel insurance policy, which does cover canyoning.

Sidenote // Read 13 Common Mistakes To Avoid With Travel Insurance