The Power Of Adventure Travel – Epic Trails Jordan

At LWimages, we are in a privileged position getting to travel around the world with our work. Whilst we don't deny the realities of conflict zones we've found where ever we've been that people often exceed our expectations with their generosity and openness. Meeting new people, experiencing different cultures has expanded our horizons, opened our minds and increased our understanding of the world. In fact we would go so far as to say travel – particularly adventure travel i.e. off the beaten track – is one of the most creative things you can do. These lessons have shone though many of the places we've been to in the first few months of 2017.

But it was our time spent in Jordan this spring that has really reminded us of the power of adventure travel. We were working in Jordan on a very exciting project with Heliconia filming a TV series called 'Epic Trails'. In the first episode, show host Eric Hanson follows the extraordinary Jordan Trail, from the North to South of Jordan – a country of unique landscapes and amazing people. Our highlights have included filming at night at the lost city of Petra, drinking tea with the Bedouin, running down sand dunes at Wadi Rum and foraging for herbs in Umm Qais.

Perhaps the standout experience was visiting the 'Lost City' of Petra. Carved out of the rose red rock in Jordan's southwestern desert, Petra is rightly a UNESCO World Heritage site. We'd heard a lot about what is Jordan's most famous attraction, but little can prepare you for seeing the place firsthand. We were doubly lucky to have the skills and knowledge our local guide Mahmoud Bdoul. Taking us at night through lesser known narrow alleyways we emerged in front of Petra's awe inspiring

centerpiece – Al-Khazneh (The Treasury). As our head torches illuminated the 2000 year old columns Mahmoud described how he was born just around the corner in a cave. He stills live locally in the new village above the ancient cities gorge. Mahmoud's tales breathed heart and soul into the historical wonder of Petra and turned our visit into something truly special.