Last week, together with my canyoning partner Hamood and my son Kevin, we decided to explore the fourth of the seven tributaries of Wadi Qasheh, a main branch of Wadi Tanuf.
Hamood came to our place in Mawaleh at 7:30 am to have a coffee before Kevin arrived at 8 am. The evening before, I had already prepared all the equipment we would need to open this new wadi: drill, anchors, ropes, and all the canyoning gear.
Kevin arrived at 8 sharp, and we hit the road in Hamood’s car, heading toward Al Faraa, our destination.
It was extremely hot, with temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius even in the shade. As usual, we stopped at our favourite coffee shop in Hay Al Turath for double-cheese, double-egg paratha sandwiches and some karak tea.
I was very happy to have Kevin with us because he had not joined me on adventure trips for quite a long time.
The only partner missing that day was our friend Rami, who was spending a month in France. To tease him, Hamood sent him a selfie of the three of us with our backpacks on, ready to start our hike from Al Faraa toward the new canyon.
Once we reached Al Faraa like on our previous trips, we followed the trail linking Al Faraa to the abandoned village of Al Rahba. We were completely exposed to the sun, but luckily a light breeze cooled down our overheated engines a little.
Just before the start of the canyon, we stopped in the shade next to an ancient wall, probably built long ago to mark or protect a domain. We took the opportunity to rehydrate before continuing.
Fifteen minutes later, we reached our starting point and entered the bed of the wadi. We climbed down a series of small walls and soon reached the first significant drop, where we had to fix our first metallic anchor in order to abseil.
I was the first to attach my descender to the rope and tackle the 20-metre drop, followed by Kevin, while Hamood came down last.
About fifteen minutes later, the canyon narrowed dramatically, and we realised we had reached the final vertical section leading into Wadi Qasheh.
We encountered three consecutive drops ranging between seven and ten metres each before arriving at the final massive abseil. I measured the drop with my laser range finder: 78 metres.
There, I found an excellent natural thread in the rock to secure the rope. From above, I could see a comfortable ledge halfway down the cliff where the three of us would be able to stand safely, pull the rope, install another anchor, and prepare for the final descent into the crystal-clear pool in Wadi Qasheh — the same pool where we used to stop for snacks during our previous trips.
The view during the descent was absolutely stunning.
Once I reached the ledge, roughly halfway down the cliff, I installed a metallic anchor before Hamood and Kevin joined me.
From there, we could hardly wait to reach the magnificent pool below and cool our exhausted bodies.
Once again, I descended first, followed by Kevin, then Hamood.
The moment each of us jumped into the crystal-clear water was indescribable — a heavenly feeling of joy and reward after such a demanding effort to reach this small piece of paradise.
As the French say, ‘Après l’effort, le réconfort’ — after the effort comes the reward.
After cooling down, we enjoyed drinks and snacks before beginning the 45-minute hike back to the vehicle.
When we finally reached an area with phone coverage again, we received a message from Rami calling us 'traitors'.
We arrived home around 6 pm and during the drive back we were already planning our next adventures: exploring three more undescended tributaries of Wadi Qasheh.
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