Two Days In Petra – Get Off The Beaten Path
Sign directing us to Petra from Wadi Musa
Petra is a bucket list trip, I mean how can it not be? The ancient city was abandoned, forgotten and then unknown to the Western world until 1812; a secret guarded by the Bedouins that have called the desert home for thousands and thousands of years. Established possibly as early as 312 B.C. Petra is an archaeological treasure full of sculpted rock monuments and now the most famous tourist attraction in Jordan. It is a UNESCO Wsorld Heritage site and one of the New 7 Wonders of the World for good reason.
We opted to head straight to Wadi Musa (the town you stay in for Petra) from the airport to keep all of our options open and maximize our time in Petra. (If you like to drink alcohol I would suggest you buy it in the airport duty-free shop as it is hard to come by in Jordan unless you are staying at a posh hotel or want to pay a premium for your vice. Not all hotels have a license to sell and the duty free rules have changed from what we had learned on the internet so be prepared!) We arrived on a Thursday which is one of the few evenings that you can see Petra at night with candle light but we did not go as it ends up being a late night and we wanted to be fresh for our first day of exploring.
Sunset in Petra from the Tetra Tree Hotel
We opted to just wander around the small town on Thursday afternoon and we had a really good dinner at the hotel with absolutely amazing views and an incredible sunset. Our host at the Tetra Tree Hotel had a really good suggestion for our next two days in the ancient city of Petra. The first day we would enter via the Siq, continue down the main trail seeing the sites, and then take the trail to the High Place of Sacrifice, down through the Processional trail and on to Qasr al-Bint and then up to the Monastery. Day two would take us again through the Siq and then up the Al Khubtha trail to an overlook of the Treasury and then back to The Royal Tombs and the other things on the main path.
Carriages on the way to the Siq
We got an early start on Friday, hoping to beat some of the crowds. It seems like a lot of people only spend a short amount of time in Petra, seeing the Treasury and maybe walking all the way to the Qasr al-Bint area. There is also this general impression that if you see the Treasury and the main trail the rest of Petra isn’t worth the bother. While the Treasury is Petra’s most magnificent and ornate of the buildings I would suggest you are cheating yourself if you don’t get off the beaten path and see some of the rest of what this ancient city has to offer.
Carved blocks on the way to the Siq
While we were dead at the end of our long days walking in Petra I really wouldn’t have done it any other way. Day one completely blew our minds. Heading down the Siq trail before it enters the narrow canyon we were already impressed by the massive monuments carved into the giant blocks and sandstone cliff walls. Next we came to the dam that the Nabataeans (the ancient people that built Petra) had created to divert any flash flood waters from Wadi Musa and keep them from flooding Petra. The Nabataens were not only master stone carvers but they were also amazing hydrological engineers. There is more and more evidence that they had a complex water system in the city center as well as dams and other water diverting and storing strategies that would have provided ample water for the whole city population, estimated to be as large as 30,000 residents at its peak. The Siq even has water channels running along the sides to bring water in and you can see the remains of the clay pipes that once were there.
Inside the narrow canyon headed to Petra
As the Siq comes to an end you start to get the first dramatic look at the Treasury. It is quite amazing! It’s a surreal moment to see the ancient 2000 year old sculpture welcome you into Petra and realizing that one more bucket list item is getting checked off. We both stood there in awe. Pictures just don’t do it justice. It is magnificent, beautiful and intricately decorated like nothing else in Petra.
The Treasury
Leaving the Treasury area we were both excited and amazed at how much there was to see. We really had no idea and all of our expectations were exceeded! Getting to the High Place of Sacrifice involves a lot of steps going up. However it is totally worth the effort as the views from up there are spectacular and we really enjoyed this view of the ancient city. It also gave us a sense of how massive Petra really is. We were equipped with the French version of the visitor map and it is far superior to the English one. The English version does not have the Processional trail at all. Along the Processional we had the opportunity to go into many of the sites along the trail, including the Roman Soldier Tomb and the Garden and Temple Complex. Aside from the Bedouin kids selling stuff we generally had the trail to ourselves which was a refreshing break from the crowds.
Near the Garden Complex
The Processional starts (or in our case ends) near Qasr al-Bint, the main temple site in Petra. This is also the basin area that has a picnicking area and restaurant. Our hotel offers a box lunch and self catering in Petra is difficult so we had each ordered a lunch and ended up with twice as much food as we needed! We ended up taking a well deserved break and rested up for the 800+ stairs that would get us to the Monastery. There are a couple of options if walking isn’t your strong suit. From the visitors center to the Treasury you could take a horse or horse drawn carriage. From the Treasury to Qasr al-Bint you can take a camel and from Qasr al-Bint to the Monastery you can take a horse or a donkey. From the looks on many faces, the horse and donkey trip up and down from the Monastery was a terrifying experience.
Qasr al-Bint
Goat friend admiring the view
The steep steps up were taxing and neither of us had bothered to find out what the Monastery was. More than once we wondered if it was worth it. Also the horses and donkeys had no regard for the pedestrians so that added a little stress to the experience as well. Only two or three seemed really out of control but we gave them a wide berth all the same. When the trail finally ended I was so surprised when I caught my first glimpse of the Monastery all I could say was ‘Wow!’ and my jaw literally dropped.
The Monastery
The Monastery is massive! It was so well worth the arduous hike. It’s about 150 feet wide and about 160 feet tall and was sculpted sometime around the 2nd century AD. It was apparently a meeting place for religious groups and later converted into a Christian chapel thus the name. Just past the Monastery there are a couple of view points and we did the short hike up for an amazing view of the surrounding landscape.
The Monastery
At this point we were both pretty well beat but still (literally) had miles to go before we could really rest. After walking down from the Monastery we headed up the main trail back towards the Treasury and Siq. Along this route there was the Roman Colonnaded Street and the Theater as well as a bunch of other carved tombs and monuments. We didn’t linger as these would also be on the route for Saturday. By the time we made it back to the Visitor Center we had been walking for over 12 hours! We rewarded ourselves with some expensive libations at the Cave Bar, had dinner and crashed out.
Well deserved refreshments!
The next day was a little slower start! We were both pretty tired. As it turns out walking the dog for 30 minutes a day isn’t really adequate training for a half marathon hiking around Petra! Still, seeing the Treasury and the rest of Petra for a second day was worth it. We took a more leisurely stroll down the main avenue and got to admire the sites we had walked by the afternoon before. At the Royal Tombs area we took the Al Khubtha trail, again more steep steps!
Steps, so many!
The Al Khubtha trail was really cool, some of it carved out of the rock, and again, we had it mostly to ourselves. The trail gave us some great views of the Theater and the main areas. At the end of the official trail there is some new archaeological excavations and a tea house and then an unofficial trail marked by cairns that continues to another tea house that is directly opposite and above the Treasury. That view was incredible. The Bedouin guys will sell you tea, water or soda and we had the good fortune to share the tent and view with some ladies that were getting serenaded!
Shani high above the Treasury
Yes, the beer is call Petra Beer.
After the Al Khubtha trail we visited the Royal Tombs section and then walked down to the Church which was a total surprise. It has a ton of well preserved floor mosaics that date to around the 5th century AD. After the Church we figured a rest was in order and so we had expensive drinks and recovered for our final walk out of Petra.
We had decided on staying a third night in Wadi Musa since we didn’t want to rush our time in Petra and we were quite glad we did. Our new hotel was the Marriott but it’s quite a ways from the Petra entrance but we were off to the Dead Sea the next day so it didn’t matter. What did matter was the sauna and steam room! We were so glad to steam and sweat and soak and let our bodies try and recover! The views from the Marriott were also amazing as it sits high above and away from the town. It was a great way for us to finish our time in Wadi Musa and Petra.
The view from the Marriott
Here is the full Petra gallery – Enjoy!
