A Guide to Visiting the Ancient City of Petra, Jordan

When I first watched The Last Crusade in 1989, the third film in the iconic Indiana Jones series, I was convinced that the finale was an elaborate studio set. The mesmerising stone city where Harrison Ford and Sean Connery share heart-pounding scenes looks like a fantasy location, and to be honest it is. It is also very real and nowadays everyone has heard of Petra. Here is Culture Trip’s guide to visiting what many consider a modern wonder of world, and what film lovers cite as the holy grail of set jetting locations.

> Book a trip to Petra

Once the hub of trade for merchants across the Middle East, Petra faded into virtual obscurity for centuries until it was rediscovered in 1812. The Nabataean tribe of nomads ruled the region and settled into the surrounding mountains around 350BCE. They began to charge merchants for safe passage through this trade route – which had become a popular way of transporting rare items such as pepper, sugar, ginger, cotton, frankincense and myrrh. At its peak in the first century CE, Petra was home to almost 35,000 residents.

The valleys of Petra once housed a number of freestanding buildings too, but an earthquake in 363CE destroyed most of them and the city quickly disappeared off the map – both figuratively and literally – after another tremor in the seventh century. Petra was virtually deserted once more and so it remained for over a thousand more years.

Swiss explorer Jean-Louis Burckhardt had heard grandiose stories of ancient buildings carved into the cliffs of Petra and managed to persuade a local Bedouin to guide him through the narrow pathways that lead to the legendary city in the early 19th century. Burckhardt’s experience is similar to that of adventurers who visit Petra today – with tight caverns and tunnels opening up to reveal the breathtaking structures of southern Jordan.

The famous gorge that leads to Petra is known as the Siq. It is a narrow path through which you can approach the city and catch a glimpse of the Al-Khazneh (the Treasury) facade – which is the one most people think of when thinking of Petra. Unfortunately, you can’t go inside the Treasury, but there’s nothing to see anyway: it’s an empty chamber. It seems its creators were far more focused on crafting the outside.

> Take a private, guided trip to Petra

That’s a the part of Petra everyone rushes to. It’s a moderate 20 minute walk from the main entrance and Visitor Centre to get here and it gets busy from early on once open in the morning. You should aim to time your visit both in terms of the general heat as well as time of year to avoid crowds. Jordan is also likely to face challenges due to wider issues in the region, so you should check what the situation on the ground is like before travelling. The country itself is very safe, however, and regardless what is happening in neighbouring countries visitors will continue to explore.

There are small stands selling souvenirs here (just out of shot in most of my pictures) and camels you can use for posing too. The elevated views to will have seen elsewhere, which allow you to look down on Al-Khazneh are constantly being renovated. When I visited they were building a new staircase, so access was very limited. This should be fully open soon, however.

For many people, this will be all they want from a trip to Petra. The walk to and from this point to the main entrance is an hour round trip if you include time for pictures. If you arrive with a guide as part of a bigger trip then they will also not be able to take you any further as there is a tradition of allowing locals who still live and work here to show you the rest of the site.

Our biggest tip for visiting Petra is don’t turn back here! If you have limited mobility then you may well want to call it a day but for everyone else make sure you turn the corner and keep going. On the day I visited, I estimate half of all travellers missed out on some of the spectacular treasures I experienced later in the day.

The Bab Al Siq guards the entrance of the Siq and is made of three large djinn blocks. These stone structures highlight why Petra is also known as the Red Rose City.

> Take a 2 Day Tour of Amman, Wadi Rum and Petra

Other highlights of Petra include the Dam, the Street of Facades and the Theatre – there are also a number of tombs within some of the buildings themselves. Tickets should be purchased upon arrival, but there are various options available depending on when you arrive and if you chose to explore other locations close by – such as the High Place of Sacrifice monument or the Monastery.

The 800 stair climb to reach the Ad-Deir – The Monastery is certainly more strenuous than the initial walk on arrival. You can opt for a horse or donkey ride up, but these are expensive not well regulated. Thankfully there are more drinks and snacks available here once you make it, so don’t worry if you inevitably work up a sweat.

Another option is the Tour by Night, which runs three times a week. This worked out well for my trip as I arrived just before sunset on the day before my full visit. It meant that I could get my first glimpse of Petra with the theatrics of a highly polished performance and light show. This is an experience geared to tourists and might feel over-produced for confident travellers.

There are a handful of pick-up points across Petra if you don’t want to go back through the main route. A large restaurant is the usual pick up point for guides and smaller buses, and this is located halfway between Ad-Deir and Al-Khazneh. There is also a pick-up point at the rear of the main site, and I’ve anecdotally heard from other travellers that if it is a really busy period and you want to beat the rush, then this is the option to go for.

Does Petra live up to the hype? Let’s just say I’d put it as my favourite single location I’ve ever visited…