Much to discover in Petra

I could almost taste the sand in the back of my throat as it sprayed from beneath the wheels of our Mitsubishi 4x4. "I call this my Japanese camel," laughed our cheerful Bedouin guide, Sabah, as he accelerated at full throttle.

We were racing through the desert of Wadi Rum, in the south of Jordan in an attempt to reach our overnight camp.

Something of a desert rat, our guide merrily weaved his way across a sun-scorched landscape littered with wind-beaten rocks and dramatic sandstone escarpments. As one jagged horizon blended into another, I lost all sense of direction. Declared a national park, Wadi Rum is home to a number of challenging hiking routes and one-time nomadic Bedouin tribes.

Although surrounded by political conflict, the neutral safe haven of Jordan is an ideal place to explore and understand the Arab world. The perfect starting point is with the people who know the land best, the Bedouins.

For almost 2,500 years they inhabited Jordan's biggest tourist attraction, the lost city of Petra. Their peace and quiet was disrupted in 1812 with the arrival of Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt, and the Unesco World Heritage site now attracts more than 700,000 visitors a year.

Exploring the narrow passageways, hidden tombs and grand temples of this vast complex awakens playful, childhood dreams of stumbling across a forgotten civilization. It's hard to believe it remained hidden for so long, concealed by a canyon. Although, of course, the Bedouin always knew it was there.

For thousands of years, nomadic travellers warmed to this land, and today there's still so much for the modern visitor to explore. On The Go offers an eight-day Totally Jordan tour from £699 per person, excluding flights. Visit onthegotours.com