One of Jordan’s most famous attractions is undoubtedly Petra, one of the 7 wonders of the world, located in the south of the country in the town of Wadi Musa. To get there from Amman, we took a fairly lonely but very beautiful route that initially runs along the Dead Sea, then into the desert, where we occasionally came across a camel or two.
Upon arriving in Wadi Musa, as we had purchased the Jordan Pass with admission to Petra for two days, we decided that this same afternoon, we would advance a little with the first part of Petra, because it is an immense complex. We also decided to go to Petra by Night (which I will talk about at the end of this article) and the next day, we would return early to finish what we had missed.
What is Petra?
A spectacular city that was carved into the rocks of the desert mountains more than two thousand years ago by the Nabataeans (although the first settlers were the Edomites). It became an important trade route connecting Egypt, Syria, Greece and Rome with Asia.
Then the Romans came to take control and Petra was left behind. Between the loss of importance, the emergence of other trade routes and earthquakes, it was abandoned and so the “lost city” remained forgotten for centuries. Until 1812, when the Swiss Johann Ludwig Burckhardt arrived, managed to enter and began to publish about it, which sparked the interest of other foreigners to explore it.
How many days should you spend in Petra?
Some recommendations suggested one day, others two days or more. We didn’t have that much time, so we went with the two-day suggestion and it was the best decision. You can do everything in one day, but it is very tiring, especially the part where you go up to see the Monastery (the hardest part) or unless you sacrifice seeing the whole complex and just stay with the Treasury. But it is so beautiful that I do recommend you try to see most of it. You won’t regret it.
If you walk the entire main path, without doing the rest of the trails that take you to important points, the round trip is about 8 kilometers. If you do the whole thing, it is obviously more because it is necessary to follow other marked routes that involve climbing, to be able to see, for example, the Royal Tombs, which are majestic.
It also takes time and effort to climb up to the Monastery, a structure very similar to the Treasury. We climbed for about 40 minutes (a little less on the way back), along a well-marked path of 800 steps (in fact there are many stalls) but it was very tiring, so much that almost at the end, the same people start encouraging you “you’re almost there”, “it’s worth it”. And of course it is.
Many people choose to rent the camel service, but I don’t recommend it because they hurt them a lot and you can notice it in their little paws.
It is worth mentioning that the advantage of doing everything in one day, is that you don’t have to repeat the same first path twice, since there is only one main entrance. The difference for us was that we would no longer stop or climb for the typical photo (the main one in this post), we would walk directly to the second part to continue our way.
What to see?
I recommend you to walk the whole route. I loved the Siq, the gorge that leads to Al Khazna or The Treasury, it reminded me a bit of Antelope Canyon. That moment when you reach the end and the view opens up to that first 40-meter-high construction, carved into the mountain, is magical. I suggest you to climb the mountain (all the guides will gladly show you the way) to take the typical photo from above. From there, you will get the most beautiful views.
The Royal Tombs also greatly impressed me. To see them, you have to take a detour to other marked routes, but you can enter some of them. They are believed to have been built between the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. Another must-see is the Theatre, as it is the only one in the world that was carved into the rock of the mountain. It had a capacity for 4,000 spectators.
And so you can follow the route on the map they give you at the entrance and see the Avenue of Facades, the Great Temple, the Qasr al-Bint (which was a temple), the Colonnade Street, among many other beautiful buildings and at the end, reach the path that ascends to the Ad Deir or Monastery from the 2nd century, a 49 meters high and 47 meters wide construction.
Petra by Night – is it worth it or not?
The show is only on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays and costs an additional 17 dinars (about 24 USD). It is not cheap, because the entrance to the complex during the day is expensive (50 dinars for one day and 55 for two days if you stay in Wadi Musa, otherwise it is 90 dinars). To be honest, it is worth it just for the impressiveness of seeing Petra lit up with candles, from the entrance to the Treasury. It is truly impressive.
The night show is poorly organized, they have two people playing two instruments, tell you a story that wasn’t even interesting and the security is very poor. I will tell you what happened to us that night.
We were all sitting on some benches in front of the illuminated Treasury. I was super excited, and suddenly a person came playing really loud music on the radio, trying to force his way in. Everyone who works or lives there tried to shut him up, but he got very aggressive to the point of yelling and suddenly he threw something towards the audience (it sounded like a bottle of water) and we all got scared and ran to the side (in the dark, only in the dim light of the candles), while the man playing the flute continued playing the same song. We all ended up dying of laughter at the ridiculous situation and luckily he didn’t hit anyone.
On our walk back, the Siq (a narrow gorge) was very dark, only lit with some candles, but beautiful because you can see the stars. Suddenly, we heard a horse galloping, which couldn’t be seen in the dark. The rider abruptly stopped in front of some ladies, who also hadn’t seen the horse coming towards them, and the man just started laughing. He was also one of the locals living there. Maybe for him, who knows the territory and is used to it, it was something normal, but this is how accidents happen. A small child couldn’t have gotten out of the way quick enough. Maybe I am exaggerating, but it did seem like a big oversight.
To summarize, Petra seemed like a dream to me, day and night. If you are thinking of traveling to Jordan, you will love this country with its jewel Petra and the Wadi Rum desert, which I will tell you about in the next post.
Travel Tips
- Buy the Jordan Pass which includes the entrance to Petra.
- Wear sports or hiking shoes.
- Travel in winter (January was perfect for us), I can’t imagine doing it in summer.
- Bring toilet paper or change, because they charge for toilet paper.
- There are restaurants inside.
If you want us to design and organize your trip to Jordan through our travel agency Tripdreaming, contact me at silvia.lucero@tripdreaming.com. For editorial questions, write to silvia.lucero@latrotamundos.com.
