Petra has been on my bucket list…well, since the 1980s when I saw that glimpse of the iconic façade of the Treasury in the Indiana Jones film The Last Crusade. From that day on, I made a pact with myself to get inside Petra Jordan, one of the best places to see in Jordan, to see the stunning lost city untouched by the hands of time.
Often called the “Lost City of Petra,” the sprawling 120 sq. mi. 2657 foot high UNESCO city dates to around 300 B.C. when it was the capital of the Nabatean Kingdom. Accessed via a high, narrow slot canyon called Al Siq, the massive Petra site contains tombs and temples carved into pink sandstone cliffs, earning its nickname, the “Rose City.”
Fun Facts
- In 1845, British poet John William Burgon won Oxford University’s Newdigate Prize for his poem “Petra”, containing the now-famous line “…a rose-red city half as old as time.”
- Petra appears in the novels the Left Behind Series.
- In 1979 Marguerite van Geldermalsen from New Zealand married Mohammed Abdullah, a Bedouin in Petra.[82] They lived in a cave in Petra until the death of her husband. She authored the book Married to a Bedouin.
- The site appeared in films such as Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger, The Mummy Returns, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Brief History of Petra
UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, Petra was the capital city of the Nabataeans from roughly 300 BC to 100 AD. The Nabataeans were nomads but established a trading base at Petra because of the strategic trade location at the crossroads between Arabia, Egypt, and Phoenicia.
The Romans took over in 100 AD, then several earthquakes destroyed much of the city and by the 16th century, Petra was abandoned and left untouched, until it was discovered by a Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt in 1812.
The Rose City in Jordan is famous for its multicolored sandstone and genuine Nabatean architecture, making it one of the best archaeological treasures in the Middle East and the world. Many aspects attract tourists to Petra, from tombs carved into the mountains, ornate temples, colonnaded streets, and ancient churches.
While there are many other spectacular places to visit in Jordan, Petra is the main reason why tourists travel to the tiny Middle East country.
How Much Time to Visit Petra?
You need 24 hours minimum to visit Petra which includes an overnight stay in Wadi Musa. Depending on the time of year, you can catch a sunrise or sunset over Petra
If you are staying somewhere else in Jordan and can’t stay overnight in Petra, no worries – you can take a day trip from Amman, Aqaba, Eilat, Israel, and even Tel Aviv, Israel. Even though it will be crowded with tourists on those tours, don’t miss visiting Petra if you are anywhere near it.
Best Time to Visit Petra
Spring and fall are the best times (March to May and September to November). Daytime temperatures are very pleasant. At those times of the year, the days are warm but not unbearably hot and the nights comfortably cool.
Tips for Visiting Petra
You should aim to arrive at Petra when it opens at 6:00 a.m., to avoid the crowds, and get some photos of the Treasury before the hordes of day-trippers from other parts of Jordan descend upon the ancient site.
When you look at the map at the Visitor’s Center, you’ll be surprised at how vast Petra is, stretching for at least 60 square kilometers through canyons, along river beds, and up mountains; be prepared for a LOT of walking, even if you do not do some of the extra hikes or climbs.
What to Wear in Petra
You’ll be walking almost entirely in the sun, heat, and on uneven terrain when you visit Petra. Therefore, knowing what to wear inside Petra Jordan is important. Loose, comfortable clothes are a must to maintain comfort.
You don’t need hiking boots, but sandals are not appropriate for walking along the sandy paths or climbing the uneven, slippery stairs. Sneakers or walking shoes like my Jambu’s with straps are fine.
The sun is intense and there is very little shade so slather on the sunscreen and bring a wide-brimmed hat or a scarf, water, and snacks.
For more details and links to what I wore, click here for What to Wear in Jordan (and Still Look Cute!)
Self-Guide or Guided?
Photo credit: Davide Mauro, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
I recommend having a guide because there’s very little signage explaining the significance of each spot. As we walked from the visitors center through to the Monastery, our G-Adventures guide, Montaser Khatabeh, regaled us with lots of information and tips that we would not have known on our own. He knew some of the shop owners and was valuable in negotiating with the Bedouins for hiking and donkeys.
Without further ado, here is my guide for what to see inside Petra, Jordan.
1 Bab as-Siq
Egyptian-influenced Obelisk Tomb and Triclinium
Every visitor’s journey starts at Bab As-Siq, the trail that starts at the Visitor’s Center and runs until you get to the entrance of the slot canyon called the Siq. It’s a scenic route, particularly enchanting in the early morning twilight. There are tombs and monuments to see along the way, such as the Egyptian-influenced Obelisk Tomb.
The Obelisk Tomb, constructed in the 1st-century B.C., has four pyramidal obelisks, each surrounding a tomb, which were funerary symbols of the Nabataeans.
The lower half of the structure is called the Triclinium. It is a simple single chamber with rock-carved benches which the Nabateans used to honor the dead by sacrificing feasts.
2 The Siq
The Siq is a high, narrow gorge that was formed when tectonic forces split the mountain into two pieces. It’s a blast to walk through the winding path with 262-foot high vertical cliffs towering you on either side, not to mention the increasing suspense as you anticipate that famous glimpse of the Treasure to appear around every corner.
THAT MOMENT…after walking 2 km through the siq and you spot the famous 141-foot high Treasury façade peeking at you from the distance. Oh, the thrill is unforgettable!
It will take you about 30 minutes to get from the Visitor’s Center, through the Siq, to the Treasury; longer on the way back when you are hot and tired and have to force yourself to put one foot in front of the other. Note: you can hire a horse to ride back if you like.
3 The Treasury
Step out of the Siq, and you’re facing Al Khazneh, aka the Treasury, whose ornate, Greek-style façade was made famous by the Indiana Jones movie “The Last Crusade.”
This is it, the magnificent site that draws so many visitors and was my favorite site inside Petra Jordan. Carved from the sheer rose-colored sandstone rock face, the Treasury was built as a tomb for the Nabataean King Aretas III and later used as a temple. Al Kharzneh is one of the best-preserved Nabatean temples in the world, protected by a valley that shelters it from the elements.
The Treasury is crowned by a funerary urn that was thought to be a pharaoh’s treasure but was found not to be true.
You can’t go inside the Treasury, but there are three chambers and the most recent excavations have revealed a cemetery underneath the building which is thought to have been a storage place for valuable documents.
Be prepared, seeing the Treasury in front of you will take your breath away…but this is only one of three jaw-dropping views of the Treasury.
Treasury from Above
The first path to get the coveted view from above is directly across from the Treasury. It is illegal for guides to take you up or for you to go yourself – you can only access this route by paying a local Bedouin to take you up. I’d heard that the cost was $20, but perhaps that was pre-Covid or maybe it was our local guide who successfully negotiated for us, but I paid just 3 JOD.
Let me be fully transparent. The young Bedouin was no help at all. He scampered on way ahead, seemingly oblivious to the fact that this is a very dangerous route, filled with huge boulders that were difficult to climb and there were many steep dropoff points with no railings to transverse. It was a treacherous climb, but totally worth the effort. This is the photo opp I’d come to Petra to get!
The second viewpoint is a less perilous but far longer hike. To get that iconic shot of the Treasury from above, you’ll have to take the long Khubtha Trail (no guide required for this one). The entrance is just past the Royal Tombs and is a steady uphill climb of some 600 stone steps until you reach a plateau. Hike just a little further until you get to a Bedouin café. From this vantage point, you can see the ruins below and the arid desert beyond.
4 The Street of Facades
After the Treasury, following the widening path to the right, you’ll find yourself on the main street of Petra. Here you’ll find crumbling Nabatean tombs of senior officials, temples, houses, a theatre, a church, and more, all carved into the sandstone rock. The tombs are considered to be the oldest in Petra.
5 The Theatre
One of the great ancient amphitheaters of the world, the Theatre was carved into the side of the mountain at the foot of the High Place of Sacrifice between 4 B.C. and 27 A.D. during the reign of Aretas IV. Seven stairways ascend the auditorium that could accommodate 4000 spectators. Later, the theatre was enlarged by the Romans to seat 8500 people.
6 The Royal Tombs
A sight to behold, as you continue along the path of the wadi, on the right you’ll see the cliffs of Jebel Al Khubtha flanking the valley offering a line of prominent monumental facades carved into the cliff face. The tombs are thought to be the burial chambers of Nabataean royalty.
In front of the Royal Tombs, the owner of a small shop came out to tell us about the health benefits and usages of frankincense, myrrh, and other organic substances he sold. I chewed on a piece of frankincense that he offered, and I loved the myrrh perfume oil that he let me sample so much that I bought some. It has such a delicately sweet scent!
The Urn Tomb is thought to have been built in 70 AD. It is by far the largest of the Royal burial chambers and was later adapted to be used as a Byzantine church. There are three small burial chambers above its doorway.
Silk Tomb (left) and Urn Tomb (right)
To the north of the Urn Tomb is the Silk Tomb, so named due to the dramatic iridescent colors of eroded sandstone façade. It has a door in the middle and features four columns. The tower dates back to the first half of the first century AD.
The three-story-high ornate Palace Tomb is 157 feet wide and 151 feet tall. Its rock-hewn façade is one of the largest in Petra and it was built with an enormous number of purely ornamental elements. The top story is notable because it reaches beyond the face of the cliff and is built, rather than carved. The tomb’s name is derived from its supposed resemblance to a Roman palace design popularized by Nero’s Golden House.
Palace Tomb (left) and Corinthian Tomb (right)
The Corinthian Tomb, which lies after the Silk Tomb, was built between 40 and 70 AD. The façade measures 90 feet wide by 85 feet high. There are four water basins in the front and on the side which were used in the cleansing rituals.
7 The Colonnaded Street
Photo credit: Seetheholyland.net, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Colonnaded Street is the remains of the Romans who took control over Petra in 106 A.D. and the center of the ancient city. History shows us that the Romans were master-builders, witnessed by the fact that their road is still intact, along with several columns lining the side of the road.
8 The Great Temple
Directly across from the colonnaded Street is the Great Nabataean Temple, built at the end of the 1st-century B.C., and is the largest freestanding building in Petra covering over 4.6 square miles. Excavations by Brown University have been ongoing since 1993.
9 The Monastery
Second only to the Treasury, Al Dier, aka the Monastery, is a fabulous iconic 154-foot façade cut out of rose-colored rock in Petra. The structure is larger than the Treasury, but not quite as detailed or ornate. The Monastery was built in the 3rd century BC as a Nabataean tomb. It is thought that it would have been used for religious meetings and has been dated in Rabel II’s reign in the 2nd Century A.D.
It’s about a 5 km hike from the entrance to Petra (2 km from the Treasury) to the entry point to the Monastery. Stop there and take some deep breaths, because you’ll have to climb another 900 +/- steep, uneven steps to get to the Monastery itself.
At the last minute, our guide convinced us to ride a donkey (10 JOD) up the steps, due to intense heat at midday and limited time for more of the vast site. It was a bit scary as I looked at the steep drop just to my right, but my handsome white donkey did not let me down. Many thanks to Montaser!
FYI, I was pleased to see that it’s illegal to mistreat the donkeys, camels, and horses in Petra, complete with a hotline number to call if you see anything amiss. The Bedouins value and take good care of their animals, at least that I could see.
The Monastery is just as well preserved as the Treasury. There is a small restaurant overlooking the site where you can grab a cup of tea or juice while enjoying the view.
Across from the Monastery are a few steps you can climb which lead to a small cave where you can get a great photo framing the Monastery.
We did hike back down the steps, rather than ride a donkey down. While the uneven stone steps were slippery and treacherous in places, we took our time and were rewarded with stunning birds-eye views over the gorge as we descended.
Along the way, we passed numerous stalls, operated by Bedouin women selling handmade Bedouin scarves, souvenirs, and jewelry. It was too tempting, and I bought quite a few things.
10 Little Petra
You probably don’t know this (I didn’t), but 5 miles north of Petra in Wadi Musa is another archaeological site called “Little Petra.” AKA Siq al-Barid, the smaller-scale Nabataean site, is also entered through a narrow canyon and has buildings carved into the rose sandstone walls.
Erected in the 1st century B.C., some scholars believe it was the original Nabataean city before they moved to the larger site while others think it was a suburb of Petra. Unlike Petra which was rediscovered in 1812, Little Petra wasn’t discovered until the late 1950s.
Conclusion
My visit inside Petra, Jordan marked my final view of the Seven Wonders of the World (really 8 because the Pyramids of Giza was grandfathered in because it’s the only one of the original Seven Wonders of the World that still exists today), and it did not disappoint.
One of the oldest cities in the world, Petra is considered one of the most eminent archaeological sites in the world. Currently, only 15% of Petra has been explored by archaeologists, so who knows how many more incredible ruins will be revealed in the future, drawing me back to this splendid site.
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Disclosure: The author partnered with G-Adventures during her visit to Jordan, but as always, the opinions, reviews, and experiences are her own.
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About the Author
Patti Morrow is a freelance travel writer and founder of the award-winning international blog Luggage and Lipstick and southern travel blog Gone to Carolinas. TripAdvisor called her one of “20 Baby Boomer Travel Bloggers Having More Fun Than Millennials” and she was named one of the “Top 35 Travel Blogs” in the world.
Patti is the author of the book “Girls Go Solo: Tips for Women Traveling Alone,” and has over 150 bylines in 40 print and online publications, including The Huffington Post, International Living Magazine, Washington Post Sunday Travel, Travel Girl, Travel Play Live Magazine, and Ladies Home Journal. She has traveled extensively through six continents looking for fabulous destinations, exotic beaches, and adventure activities for her Baby Boomer tribe.
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