Sarha

“Sarha” is an Arabic word that encapsulates the spirit of our trips:

“To go on a sarha was to roam freely, at will, without constraint. The verb form of the word means to put the cattle out to pasture early in the morning, leaving them to wander and graze at liberty. The commonly used noun sarha is a colloquial corruption of the classical word. A man going on a sarha wanders aimlessly, not restricted by time and place, going where his spirit takes him to nourish his soul and rejuvenate himself. But not any excursion would qualify as a sarha. Going on a sarha implies letting go. It is a drug-free high ... ”

Experience the Real Jordan

With our Jordan Adventure tours we want you to see Jordan from ground level, not through a glass and steal bubble of a coach. To get off the beaten track and meet the people – Bedouins, villagers, farmers, and city dwellers. And do it while hiking, cycling or climbing.

Get to places where vehicles cannot reach and enjoy views only earned after a long climb. Enjoy each region’s food specialties in homes. Support the local communities. Stay in a Bedouin tent, local village homes, and a family hotel. Have a genuine Jordanian experience.

We believe travel can be best experienced when combining healthy outdoor activities, with culture and fantastic landscapes. We develop programs that take advantage of the best-known natural beauties of Jordan – Petra and Wadi Rum - while also including the less known, less traveled corners that offer diverse landscapes. From the multi-colored sand desert to the lush palm vegetation of hidden wadis and canyons to the northern hills carpeted with wildflowers in spring and concealing little known , seldom visited forests.

It is important for us that you gain a unique experience in Jordan so we design programs that immerse you in the local culture, provide interaction with the Bedu, and visits to local villages; all while discovering the hidden corners of Jordan’s natural environment.

We want you to experience the real Jordan.

Affiliates

Our mother company – Guiding Star Agency – is a member of the following associations in Jordan:

JITOA	JTB	JSTA

Our Story & Company

Sarha is the adventure division of Guiding Star Agency. Guiding Star is a family business started by my parents in 1961. We have offices in Amman, Jordan and in Jerusalem. The company focuses on offering travel holidays for Christian Pilgrims and high-end travelers. I have been committed to the family business for 25 years and continue to work with my family in maintaining high standard trips for our clients.

My interest though is in the outdoors and the many activities it can offer. At every opportunity, I head out with my friends and family. In this part of the world, some of the best places to explore are the wadis and mountains of Jordan. After several years of discovering the nature of Jordan, it was a small step to go to offering adventure trips through our tour company Guiding Star.

I started hiking the wadis and canyons of Jordan in the late 80’s after returning to the Middle East in 1985 from the UK. During this time, there was little information about the wilderness of Jordan. The villagers and Bedouin inhabitants of the area held all the knowledge locally. This started changing when Tony Howard and Di Taylor wrote a guidebook on hikes and walks in Jordan. This information opened up the countryside of Jordan to others around the world and to visitors from overseas.

I met Tony Howard and Di Taylor in 1999 at a trade show in the UK. I asked them to help with a project in Palestine that aimed to create a national trail from Nazareth to Bethlehem – The Nativity Trail. From this involvement, they wrote the first active guidebook on Palestine.

Since then my exploration of Jordan has increased and every spring I spend time exploring new regions. In 2009, Tony and Di and I concentrated on exploring the north of Jordan and we were very excited about the treks, climbing spots and areas of pristine wilderness that we found. Jordan continues to surprise us. Every year we find a hidden corner that has much to offer to the outdoor enthusiast.

Responsible Travel

Responsible travel is wanting to maximize your connection and positive interaction with people while minimizing your impact on the environment. It is about supporting local communities rather than international chains. It is treating travel as an educational experience by having an open learning attitude rather than a judgemental one. It is respecting others. It is an experience that is enjoyable and leads to personal growth.

Responsible tourism can be considered through three lenses:

ENVIRONMENT: travel that is aware and conscious of our environment; minimizing our impact and contributes to the conservation of biodiversity, wilderness, natural and human heritage.

SOCIAL/CULTURAL: travel that comes with an open mind and educational desire. That respects the other and strives for interaction, communication and understanding.

ECONOMIC: travel that is non-exploitative and seeks to benefit the host and grassroot projects.

We believe adventure travel can be utilized to be responsible travel. Hiking, trekking, canyoning, and climbing are low impact compared with bus tours. Our adventures move at a slower pace and is in small groups allowing interaction with locals. And we are visiting less visited areas of Jordan spreading the economic benefit to the margins.

• We pay fair wages and prices to our staff and suppliers.
• We support establishments from the community when we can. For example by patronizing locally run hotels and restaurants.
• We support homestays and meals with families.
• We seek guides and staff in marginal communities as a way of contributing to the local economy.
• We are active in seeking training and licensing for adventure guides from outside the main urban centers
• We are developing tours to areas that are outside the normal tourist routes. We hope to spread the economic benefit of tourism to the margins.
• We support projects that contribute to responsible travel such as the Abraham Path Initiative