Petra

The ancient “rose city” of Petra is one of the new seven wonders of the world and has been a Unesco world heritage site since 1985. It is also known as the “Lost City” since it was only rediscovered in 1812, despite being built in the 3rd century BCE.

Known as Raqmu in ancient times and by its constructors – the Nabatean civilization – the archaeological site is the most crucial tourist attraction in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. It is widely considered one of the most important ancient cities in the world.

Its unique atmosphere and architecture, with its monuments carved in the layered pink rock canyons, make it a sight to behold.

What to expect

Large rose-tinted natural canyons and rock formations.
Awe-inspiring temples carved in stone.
Very dispersed archaeological site, requiring the best walking or hiking shoes to visit.
Desertic climate with hot and dry days and cold mornings and evenings.
Lots and lots of visitors concentrated in the small areas in front of the various monuments

Tips & Impressions

Try to visit the site as early as possible. The site opens at 6 AM and exploring it in the morning creates a completely different atmosphere, with the shops and street vendors still closed, the lack of tourists, the silence of the entire site, and only the birds chirping.
You don’t need a guide to visit the site
Pack your best walking shoes since to visit the site, just following the straight path will amount to more than a 5-kilometer walk.
Do not limit your sightseeing to the Treasury and Monastery. The whole area is filled with nooks and tombs carved on the mountainside. Also, stopping in cafes and restaurants allows one to enjoy the colors of the environment without doing any exploration in itself and just immerse oneself in the beautiful atmosphere.

The Site

At more than 260 km²the entire complex is immense and structures are abundantly spread apart to make visiting the site a journey in itself.

The two most popular attractions are the iconic Treasury (Al-Khazneh) and the Monastery (Ad-Deir). The two monuments stand on opposite sides of the park and both of them demand a rather long walking journey from their visitors.

From the main entrance at the visitor center, the Treasury is found at the end of the Siq, the long, winding road within the natural canyon. The path is wonderful in itself, with the smooth, rose-tinted rock only slightly letting the sunrays through. To reach the gorge, though, a long dirt road must be traversed, which can be done by horse on the sidepath or by cart. The entire walk is around 2km so it is already a pretty long stretch before the Treasury opens up in all its glory to visitors at the end of the gorge.

Next, the east walls of the mountain are dotted with many tombs, making this area known as the Street of Facades. All these can be climbed and offer a great view of the entire site and of the theater below.

A large open road opens up, the Colonnaded Street, and traverses the central area of the park, with notable monuments such as the remains of the Great Temple and the Nymphaeum. On this stretch of road, there are notably fewer shops and street vendors, as it is also on open land with no rock formations that can shelter from the sun or wind.

At the end of the long road is the start of the climb to the Monastery. The path is made by around 850 steps (although I did count them because apparently I have nothing better to do, or OCD, not really sure, and arrived at 737). It can be quite a hike.

The Monastery is similar in architecture to the Treasury but larger and with a larger plaza, making it a nice place to sit and relax in the cafe in front of it and admire it while bathing in the sun.

All in all, this route is 3.5 km from the Treasury (+ the 2 km to reach the Treasury) so the entire path will take at least 2 hours if one simply races through.

There are three entrances to Petra.

The main classic entrance is the one discussed above, from the Siq to the Treasury, through the Street of Facades, across the Great Temple, towards the Monastery, and back.
The side entrance is a great way to explore the site if doing a 2-day visit as it passes by other structures and leads directly to the center of the site. The path is definitely less scenic than the primary one as is through a concrete road but is also much less traversed (basically nobody uses it), allowing for quiet exploration of the rock formations and some smaller stone-carved monuments.
Arguably the best route is through the rear entrance, which entails a hike (or camel ride) from “Little Petra” and will lead you to the monastery, which is usually the last monument seen when entering from the front entrance. It also has the advantage of avoiding the long upward climb to the monastery and leaving the iconic Treasury as a grand finale.

Country Info

Language: Arabic is the official language in Jordan. English is widely spoken by learned people. There is also a significant percentage of people speaking French and German, as they are languages that can be taken as options in schools.
Population: 10.4 million (est. 2019)
Ethnic Groups: 95% Arab, 5% other ethnic minorities (Druze, Assyrians, Circassians, Armenians)
Religions: Jordan is primarily Muslim but there is a presence of Christianity. Compared to many other arab countries, there is a high tolerance for other faiths
Currency: Jordanian Dinar (JD).
Credit Cards: Credit Cards are widely accepted in cities and ATMs are evenly distributed, although there is a high service fee charge
Electricity: Socket types Europlug, British types, Schuko, 230 volt / 50 hertz

Check the Jordan page for more country general information

Safety

Safety: The only risks that may arise when visiting Petra are related to hiking injuries or sunburns.
Natural risks: Being in the desert, the risks are related to sandstorms but also occasional flooding. Most issues are with the temperature changes: being very hot during the day but also freezing cold at night.
Emergencies number: 911

* Data gathered from amadeus.com

Getting there

Wadi Musa, the city where the Petra site is, can be reached through Route 35 which is the amazing Kings Highway. Usually, visitors arrive either from the major cities of Aqaba or Amman.
The trip from Aqaba is shorter and passes near the Wadi Musa desert, whereas from Amman, either south through the Kings highway itself, or coasting the Dead Sea and then turning inland.
Once arrived at the site, there are 3 entrances to the archaeological park which are discussed below in the overview of the site

Weather

The usual would be expected from a desertic climate. During the day, it shines very strongly but it is dry and perfectly sustainable. At night, it will be quite chilly. In the morning, even more so as the whole night of freezing has accumulated from the previous night.

In any case, it is usually windy; therefore, whether in a shirt during the day or a jumper in the evening or morning, some wind protection is helpful. Hats or turbans are useful to protect from the scorching sun, and sunglasses are useful to screen from the sand raised by the wind.

Etiquette

When it comes to Jordanian etiquette in general, most things are tied to Muslim influences and therefore related to dress code. In larger towns such as Amman, it is frowned upon to wear shorts or expose too much skin. In touristic destinations, such as Petra, this is overlooked.
Jordanians are very friendly and when offered something, it is good manners to place a hand on the heart in case you want to deny their offer as a sign of respect. Also, feet should never be pointing at someone. All these (and many more) customs don’t need to be followed in Petra, as the site is entirely geared towards tourists and the people working there and living in the surroundings are used to foreigners and their different behaviors.

Flora & Fauna

There is very little vegetation, if any, in Petra. The same goes for wildlife since it is an archaeological site with thousands of daily visitors.
The animals that you will encounter are those used by the locals to move around and offer to tourists, namely donkeys, horses, and dromedaries.
As in many other parts of Jordan and in general Muslim countries, there is a large presence of cats and also many dogs, all well behaved and definitely not to be considered as stray animals or dangerous.
In summer, there are some flies and in the evening mosquitoes.

Deals for Petra

Travelogue

Accommodation

Petra is located in the city of Wadi Musa. The town has several hotels aimed at all different budgets. The surrounding area also has many tent camps, which are where most people stay and provide an additional “genuine” experience.