In a country where caravans of camels once carried spices and silks through the rose-red sandstone canyons of Petra, another kind of journey has begun - with the gentle hum of an e-bike.
“Our tour starts in Dana, which is the largest nature reserve in Jordan,” says Ayman Abd-Alkareem, of Experience Jordan Adventures, who played a pivotal role in bringing the first fleet of e-bikes into the country. “Within a couple of hours, you go through four different climate zones. That doesn't exist in other parts of the world. You go through Wadi Rum, which is like Mars on Earth. It's out of this world. And of course Petra - the seventh wonder - which you visit on foot.”
With e-bikes, we have access to new communities that we couldn't include on previous routes.
For Ayman, the benefits of e-bikes are obvious.
“People who want to travel with e-bikes usually either want to cover more distance or cover the same distance more comfortably,” he says.
“Some are less experienced cyclists, and it means we can run multi-generational tours. What makes Jordan so special is the mountains, valleys and hills. The trails are unmarked and untouched. We have amazing views, and we can reach more of them with e-bikes."
More crucial yet is the positive impact this tourism could bring to remote Bedouin communities which sit off the beaten path. Currently, many communities - even those situated near globally-significant sites like Petra - don't see much benefit at from tourism. Ayman wants to see this change.
“One of the most important parts is including as many local communities as possible along our trails," says Ayman. "With e-bikes, we have access to new communities that we couldn't include on previous routes. The e-bikes give us access to more scenery, community, less carbon emissions. The holistic concept is really what we're looking to grow in the future. The idea is not to run more tours but more sustainable, meaningful tours.”
Planting the Seeds
It has been a decade-long journey to establish cycling culture in Jordan.
“Back in 2015, we tried offering cycling tours with normal push bikes, but we couldn’t get much interest,” says Ayman. “We realised it was because there was not much cycling culture in Jordan. So we took a step back, and we developed what is now called the Jordan Bike Trail, our national cycling trail.”
The Jordan Bike Trail runs 455 miles (730km) from Um Qais to Aqaba, through rolling hills, olive groves, deep canyons and archaeological wonders.
We developed what is now called the Jordan Bike Trail, our national cycling trail.
“We mapped the trail across the country from north to south, collected the GPS tracks, the emergency contacts along the way, we mapped the accommodation, all the stages and put everything together on one website. Then we turned it into an open source website for everyone in the country to benefit from. The idea was to promote cycling culture. We received a small grant from US Aid at that point, and we used the money to create more content and a few years after, around 2018, we started seeing a huge demand for cycling. We found that the reason was the development of that bike trail.
“Then, we started seeing demand for e-bikes.”
E-bikes have never been banned in Jordan, but until recently there were simply no regulations which allowed them to be cleared at customs - so they couldn’t be imported. “We were first hoping to import e-bikes three or four years ago,” says Ayman. “But when we tried, there was no identified category at the customs department. There was just no code to use to clear the bikes."
The idea began to gather speed after Abd-Alkareem was invited to meet with Hussein bin Abdullah, the Crown Prince of Jordan, as well as the Minister of Tourism and three other leading figures in Jordanian tourism.
“The purpose of the meeting was to hear ideas on how we could improve and grow the adventure tourism scene in Jordan,” Ayman recalls.
“The Crown Prince was super helpful. He listened to us. I brought up the topic of e-bikes and noted that the market is growing - and he liked the idea. He told the Minister of Tourism to try and progress with the ideas. We started frequent meetings with the traffic department and the Ministry of the Interior. They asked for more details about what other countries are doing and more about pedal-assist e-bikes. We prepared a presentation - and yeah, they accepted our proposal.
“I still have the letter I sent, where we have all the specifications and regulations that we wanted to be adjusted. A year later, we received a letter saying that regulations are now published, and you are allowed to import e-bikes.
We were the first to officially import and clear e-bikes in Jordan.
“They only allow tour companies to import - not bike shops. The growing demand is mainly from tour companies, so they designed them based on this demand at this stage. They also allowed us just to use them on the cycling trails outside the towns and the busy cities, which is understandable. They also made sure that we don't exceed certain power levels for the batteries and the engines. So, we have the clear regulations now, and as soon as the law was issued, and the new regulations were published, we imported the first shipment of e-bikes. We were luck to be the first to officially import and clear e-bikes in Jordan.”
Lines in the Sand
Anton Al-Sager has worked closely with Ayman Abd-Alkareem to lay the foundations for e-bikes in Jordan, and ensure there are routes ready to ride.
“Now it's more accessible for older generations who want to visit Jordan, because physically it is a demanding place to cycle,” says Anton. “Jordan is hilly. We have lots of valleys and canyons. Even on a standard bike tour, it's hard to design an easy tour here. With e-bikes, it's more possible. If you were to say 'today we're going to climb 1,500 metres' - that's no problem. We can do that.
“On our tour with Much Better Adventures, we do back-to-back days of cycling - following the Sharah Mountains; the ridge of mountains. We start around the Dana Nature Reserve and we cycle to Petra; to Shobak [Fortress], Wadi Rum to the Red Sea. Some of the routes are on hard-packed sand, and some are on sandy segments where the pedal-assist gives you the power to keep on riding.
"I took our cycling guides out and we went to the desert to test the trails out. You put it in turbo mode, and you go through the sand. It’s really enjoyable.”
Ayman continues: “It's not something you can do everywhere around the world. Anton put a lot of effort into designing routes in Wadi Rum. It's a sandy desert, but there are some parts where the terrain is solid. It's not easy to find these trails and connect them but we managed to do that, and now we have some really good trails.
“There is cycling in the desert, on sand, and other sections where you are cycling on ancient routes and Bedouin off-road tracks, which is easier. With e-bikes, it will be a really fun experience, and we've got really good quality e-bikes."
The e-bike tour ends in Aqaba, a port city on the edge of the Red Sea.
“It's where we have some of the best corals in the world," says Ayman. "People can snorkel. It's called the Red Sea because when you fly over, it's red because of the corals underneath. Spend some time on the beach. It's the best way to end that tour.”
Adventure is a collective effort. It needs to be.
For Anton and Ayman, all tourism in Jordan comes back to community impact.
“We take huge pride in working with communities, not just because we work with them, but because we are friends,” says Ayman. “We spend time with our Bedouin friends. Now, we're working with a new community to teach them English to introduce them to tourism in two or three years. It's a long term investment, but it will pay off at some point, and when it does pay off it will be meaningful and it will make a huge impact. It will not be like sending someone from the city to work in the Bedouin village.
“Adventure is a collective effort - it needs to be. You need to include people, work together and share knowledge. That’s what we try to stand for and promote.”
Inspired? Be the first to cycle the Jordan Trail to Petra on an e-bike!