705: WADI AHEIMAR TO AL-HUMEIMA

From the Wadi Aheimar campsite, head left up Wadi Aheimar to the south, staying in this same wadi all the way up to the plateau at 21km. Wadi Aheimar will have other wadis flowing into it as you head upwards, but be sure to stay in the main wadi stream and you’ll be fine navigation-wise for most of the day.

Continue in this wide wadi bed in a southeast direction, when the 4×4 trail will end in a few kilometers. At this point, the wadi deepens and tightens, turning back and forth more and more. At a major split in the wadi, stay left in the main valley. The rock will change to darker granite, and as you head due east in a very straight line, you’ll be in the shade until about the 11km mark.

As the wadi widens, there’s a place for a wild campsite near Ain Aheimar to the right of the trail, where the wadi walls turn to sandstone. Some water pools may be present in the wadi if it has rained recently. The spring is accessible through small slot with a large fig tree to the south, just opposite the wider part of the wadi. Continue onward through pushes in the wadi, staying right at the next major split through a mixture of granite and sandstone boulders. Soon the wadi turns left/east again through a beautiful sandstone Siq, the highlight of the day through red and white sandstone. Continue up as the stone turns to white chalky sandstone, and after you see a small stone fence on the left, look for a faint footpath to the right, which winds up and out of the valley.

Continue up this path until you reach the plateau, and head straight to the Bedouin village of Abbasiya. Make your way to the main dirt road, and head southwest past Abu Sabah’s tent on the edge of town, continuing for 3.7 km to the ruins of Humeima, where the stage ends. The visitor center at Humeima is a bit run down and doesn’t have water or any services, but a local caretaker could likely call a taxi for you. Be sure to stay wide of the military area located to the west.