Shobak Caste "Secret Tunnel" || Route to Qasr Bshir

I am republishing two pieces of information here that may not be widely known and are therefore, in my humble opinion, worth preserving. The two posts (now merged into one) disappeared in the Great Thorn Tree Purge of December 2012, when much of the TT archive was removed from view. Both posts are a couple of years old, so I cannot guarantee that the situation on the ground is unchanged.

“Secret Tunnel” under Shobak Castle
To reach the tunnel entrance, pass the door to the market on your right, continue on the main path (which bends right a few meters after the door). Straight ahead are 9 or 10 steps leading up. The tunnel entrance is immediately right of these steps. The entrance is not blocked or visibly discouraged. The Rough Guide description is hopelessly sensationalist: not even archaeologists dared to explore the tunnel!? Well, plenty of tourists and locals do, judging from footprints, graffiti and the occasional piece of rubbish! The initial steps are in good shape, but they degenerate quickly. The rock seems to be quite soft and many steps have been ground to powdery sand that is almost pleasant. The tunnel winds repeatedly and descends rapidly half way down. Falling is a danger, but the rough walls and ceiling provide plenty of grips for hands. The tunnel is generally 2 to 3 meters wide and high. It was bone-dry when I went down in summer and I would not be surprised if it remains in this condition throughout the year. The air is dry and reasonably fresh. I saw no creepy-crawlies of any sort. In fact, the tunnel has an almost antiseptic feeling. I wore good shoes and had one LED headlamp and a strong Maglite torch. The former illuminates the area around your feet; the latter is practically useful and psychologically comforting because it enables you to see 20 to 30 meters ahead. It takes 10 to 15 minutes to walk down. As you emerge over iron ladder steps in a brick shaft, it's right (uphill) back to the castle and left to Shobak town. I suggest to any would-be explorer to walk down the initial 30 or 40 steps. If that creeps you out, turn back. If not, carry on. There seems to be another secret passage, starting under the stairs at the back of the church, which I did not explore.

Qasr Bshir
The following is the verified route to Qasr Bshir. As perhaps no cars’ distance measurements are 100% correct it may be best to navigate by landmarks or GPS waypoints and not by the km count alone. Unlike widely reported, Qasr Bshir is actually very easy to access if you can identify the two crucial turnoffs correctly (km count 0 and 8.2 below). If it were more widely known this site would make an excellent 1 to 2 hour side trip when travelling between Amman and Petra! Qasr Bshir is relatively well preserved and its exposed location is utterly dramatic, especially as you see it from miles away and slowly head towards it.

As you approach Al-Qatrana on the Desert Highway from the north there is a little shelter on the right which normally shades a police patrol car. The turnoff to Qasr Bshir is ca. 100 m further on. It is a tarmac road heading straight into the desert at a perfect 90 degree angle from the motorway. There is absolutely no landmark except a “Stop” sign. If you see the blue “Al-Qatrana” town sign on your right you have missed the turnoff by 200m; if you see the “Petra Touristic Complex” on your right you have missed the turnoff by 500 m.

Km count 0: Desert Highway turnoff (N31°16.181’, E36°03.087’)

Km 0.7: road passes a power line mast

Km 2.6: road bends towards NW. The road then meanders through the desert, heading N or W or anything in between. There are a few stretches where the tarmac is so broken that only gravel is left. No 4WD is necessary. Follow the main tarmac road – only tracks branch off left and right, so it is practically impossible to leave the main road by mistake.

Km 4.3: another power line mast

Km 7.0: if the light conditions are good, you can see a building in the middle of the desert in the far distance, direction NNW. This is not Qasr Bshir!

Km 7.9: the building above disappears from view behind a hill. 300 m ahead you can already see a track branching off the road to the right, climbing a little hill.

Km 8.2: (N31°19.151’, E35°59.934’) A drivable track branches off to the right. Again, there are no landmarks (let alone signs) at this spot. The main road swings gently to the left at this location. The track goes uphill and bends to the left ca. 30m from the main road.

Km 8.3: the track reaches the top of the hill. For the first time you can see Qasr Bshir directly in front of you. Between this location and the Qasr is a white building. Follow the track towards this building. (Google Earth shows that the track actually forks a few 100 meters further on, which is not visible very well on the ground, but this need not concern you. Simply head towards the white building.) The track is sand and gravel; in dry conditions the ground is hard and firm. The track is often washed out, which creates ravines 20 to 30 cm deep. A 4WD is recommended, but a normal vehicle may just (!) be able to navigate the track if you drive very slowly and carefully over difficult sections. It is often possible to avoid the ravines or potholes by taking one of several parallel tracks that all run towards the Qasr.

Km 9.9: (N31°19.857’, E35°59.302’) you pass the white building, which is an abandoned (?) construction site. Follow the track, which becomes a bit unclear at times. The Qasr disappears from view as you climb a little hill, but soon reemerges.

Km 10.9: Qasr Bshir (N31°20.239’, E35°58.876’). The ground around here is covered with sharp rocks, which might slice the tyres of a normal car?!

If you do not wand to risk the trip in a normal car, you could walk from the main road (2.7 km) or drive along the track until you hit the first serious obstacle (which may well be before the abandoned building site), then walk from there.
If you miss the turnoff and continue driving along the tarmac road for 1.2 or 1.3 km the Qasr will come into view on your right. Google Earth shows that the walking distance to the Qasr is only about 1700 m from this location, but it seems you have to cross a small wadi or canyon between the road and the Qasr.
The Desert Highway, the tarmac road, and the track to Qasr Bshir are all clearly visible on Google Earth. You can also see Qasr Bshir and even the abandoned construction site. The tarmac road seems to continue west into the desert for another few km and then ends, disappears or turns into an invisible track.

Damn, "Castle" not "Caste"...! Typo in the heading, of all places. Where's the edit function when you need one. :-(

I bookmarked your old post about Qasr Bshir and funnily enough I recently tried to open it. Obviously no joy.
Thanks for putting it up again and I'll copy and paste it to be sure this time.