I recently visited Petra as part of my Egypt & Jordan by Nile Cruise with Travel Talk Tours. Petra was a highlight of the trip and one of the most beautiful and well preserved ancient sites I have ever visited. Before you make your journey to Jordan here are a few things to keep in mind.
You will need more than one day to visit Petra
There is a common misconception that Petra is the famous temple shown above. Petra is actually an ancient city scattered with ruins that covers over 60 square kilometres of land. Because of it’s magnitude, some sites take up to 2 hours to reach from the entrance. The image above shows one of the ruins, The Treasury. It is one of the first places you come across when you enter the site. The Treasury is particularly famous because of it’s striking rose coloured rock. Other highlights such as The Monastery, Royal Tombs, Place of High Sacrifice, The Theatre and Wadi Farasa will require another day to reach (if you want time to also sit and enjoy the views). I recommend doing The Treasury and the Monastery on Day 1 and the other highlights on Day 2.
- Related Article: Top 5 things to do in Jordan
Prepare for the hike up to The Monastery
My second favourite place within Petra is The Monastery. Be prepared for a relatively steep and medium difficulty hike. It will require sturdy shoes and lots of water. The Monastery is between 850 – 1000 steps up a mountain and will take 3-4 hours to complete roundtrip. Many tourists we passed were not aware of the elevation and had to turn back because closing time was approaching.
Bring sun protection, snacks and water
Petra is an open site, other than the shadows of the canyon at the entrance there is not much coverage. I would suggest bringing at least a litre of water, a packed lunch, sunscreen, sunglasses and a hat for a full day excursion. It was too hot to wear long sleeves the day we were there so I brought a lightweight scarf to put over my shoulders.
To get Petra to yourself, visit at sunrise or sunset
As your personal scout for the best times to visit sites I tried and tested Petra over two days and can confirm that the site is all but empty at 6:00am-8:00am and closing time (5:00pm-6:00pm). During both these periods I got The Treasury and The Treasury lookout to myself to take photos.
You can stay at the entrance to Petra
The majority of people visit Petra as a day trip from Amman. If you are short on time this is a great option but if you get the chance, I would highly recommend staying in Petra. Accommodation can be found a mere 10 min walk from the entrance and for as low as £20. This is a particularly a good idea for your itinerary if you decide to take on board my number #10 recommendation below 😉
When you tip you will not be given change
When you enter the site, locals will tell you a horse ride to the canyon entrance (200m down the road) is included in your ticket. This is true however, you are required to tip. Tipping would not be an issue if it wasn’t for the fact you are not given change. The expected tip is 3 JD and you need this exactly, we saw a lady give 20 JD and she was refused change…
You need your passport
A potentially obvious point, but we saw multiple travellers stressing at the entrance because they had not read the terms and conditions of their Jordan Pass (a popular pass that includes your Jordan visa). You will need your passport (or other valid identification) to enter Petra.
The ‘short cut’ to The Treasury lookout is dangerous
On arrival to The Treasury you will be bombarded with locals who tell you there is a shortcut to the lookout. The official maintained trail which takes you to the lookout takes an hour to reach. The shortcut takes about 30 mins. I was very grateful to our Travel Talk Tours guide for giving us the low down on the situation. There have been multiple casualties along the shortcut route in the past year. The shortcut is not maintained, extremely steep and dangerous. Of course, this is a judgement call for you to make but when I was sitting at the official lookout watching people go up the shortcut my heart skipped a beat… it’s not something I would personally risk. The official trail also has stunning viewpoints of the region.
Friendly stray animals
This one may not be a ‘need to know’ 😛 But you guys know how much I love animals and it was really nice to visit a site where the strays were treated really well. At sunrise we had a dog happily follow us around the site for an hour and on the previous day we had Monica the Cat join us for tea at The Treasury lookout.
Add Wadi Rum to your itinerary
As discussed in my article Top 5 things to do in Jordan, Wadi Rum narrowly won my favourite place in Jordan. If you are making your way to Petra you should really consider adding Wadi Rum to your itinerary. Camping in the desert is an unforgettable experience and if you are starting in Amman, you are already half way there when you reach Petra.
Follow this link to book your trip to Petra with Travel Talk Tours.
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