An excellent travel story today from Times Online on mountain biking through Jordan, a 280 mile ride through Middle Eastern deserts that put the adventurous author up close and personal with Bedouin villages, challenging single track, and a whole new way to see a country.
Author Vincent Crump set out too on a new trip offered by Explore, an adventure travel company headquartered in the U.K. This tour takes riders on the “Back Roads of Jordan” exploring sand dunes, and wandering down to the lowest place on Earth, the Dead Sea. Further destinations include riding the King’s Highway and approaching Petra on your two wheeled traveling companion, in what has to be an amazing ride.
Crump wasn’t a big fan, as it turned out to be more of a demanding holiday than he was expecting, and the June heat in the Middle East couldn’t have helped the situation any. Stepping out into the desert in the summer is a bit like being in a blast furnace, and the struggle to stay hydrated in a spot as warm and dry as the Dead Sea had to take it’s toll.
Still, there is a rising trend in adventure tourism to go by bike, and I have to admit that it’s one that I like. Riding a bike has a lower impact on the environments that you’ll visit, and the slower paced and off road nature of mountain biking can really put you into places you might not normally get to see. I’d love to take a trip like this one, and fortunately at the end of this article, there are six more similar trips suggested. They come in varying degrees of challenge and are found all over the world, stretching from Canada to Peru, and from India to Tanzania.
Whose ready to peddle their way across a country?
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We “me and family” made a trip to Petra in Jordan in April 2007. it was a piece of art and fabulous.
We flew from Berlin to Amman- Jordan. We traveled at modern buses with a guide/driver.
Our route was Amman, Jerash, Ajloun , Petra , Dead Sea.
On the way we experienced architectural, archaeological, historical and cultural places: noble mosques, interesting museums, ancient castle, unique ruins, stone paths, the lowest point on earth with mineral salty water at Dead sea. Also we went to see how nomads live in their tents.
Before our trip we got a lot of warnings and surprising comments on Jordanians’ hostility toward Westerners. Anyhow in every city, town and village we felt ourselves very welcome and every person was polite and hospitable to us.
Our guide was the best possible guide. His knowledge of Jordan, the past and the present is enormous and his driving style is convincing, A trip with him was like a trip with a friend not with a formal guide.
From my experience, http://libertytourism.com/Programs.html is one of the best tours at Jordan where all you may need and ask on one place.
Hans Herrman