A Minute to Minute Guide for Petra

The ancient city of Petra is a must-see archaeological site on every traveler’s list! Pictures of this amazing site do not give it justice. It needs to be experienced first hand. With that said, the site itself has become so overrun with aggressive vendors that admittedly, our experience was hampered a bit.

However, being among the first people to enter will help alleviate the vendor overload. Not only that, you’ll feel as though you have the whole site to yourself for a while! We compiled a minute by minute itinerary below to help travelers get a sense of how much time is needed and what can reasonably be accomplished in one day.

Bear in mind that we are not fast walkers by any stretch, and that this itinerary involves a lot of walking over a ten-hour timespan.

6:00am: Entered the park

The gates open at 6am and every tourist should plan to be there at that exact moment. I would suggest picking up a free map from the visitor’s centre. We were among maybe 5 other people, which gave us a lot of breathing room for a while. The only annoying thing was the stray dogs. They can be aggressive and annoying. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a dog lover, but I was not willing to ruin my Petra experience by being bitten by an aggressive stray. Follow the only path you can take and walk through the Siq.

6:25am: Reached the Treasury

The Treasury is the most iconic facade in Petra and it’s the first main thing you will see.

At this point, there shouldn’t be many people around, so you take your time to grab some amazing photos with no other people in them.

We spent around 35 minutes taking it in. I also recommend climbing up the nearby cliff to get some pictures from a higher vantage point before all the crowds arrive. There will likely be someone on the cliff selling tea and providing a blanket to sit on to see the view.

7:00am Street of Facades and past the Ancient Theatre

After the treasury, we walked along the Street Of Facades and spent some time gawking at the ancient theatre! At this point, there will probably be vendor stalls set up everywhere, but the vendors themselves may not have arrived yet. This gives you some free time to explore without being hounded to buy something!

7:30am Explored the Royal Tombs then Al-Khubtha Trail

The Royal Tombs were one of my favourite places in the entire site. It was so cool to walk around inside and around them. The ancient architecture is breathtaking!

After a few minutes, follow the signs to the Treasury Viewpoint (a higher vantage point). At this juncture, you may decide to head straight to Ad-Deir (Monastery) Trail instead to beat the crowds. We chose to go to the Al-Khubtha Trail first.

8:20am Reached the highest viewpoint of the Treasury

After about 40 minutes of walking up fairly steep stairs, we reached the higher Treasury viewpoint. By this point, you likely won’t get people-less pictures, but it’s super cool to sit there and enjoy the view! Unfortunately, a local entrepreneur had occupied and blocked the best viewpoint so tourists would be forced to buy overpriced tea from him to see it!

This is the moment that we really felt annoyed since we had purchased expensive entry tickets for Petra but were unable to fully enjoy our visit. Not only that, when we arrived to his “hut”, he must have heard us complaining about his sign and rudely informed us to take a picture and get lost. Say what you will about supporting the locals, but that was ridiculous. We paid a hefty fee to be there and didn’t want to be forced to buy an overpriced tea at every turn. Upon finding a different vantage point, we relaxed for approximately 40 minutes. We also enjoyed a snack.

9:00am Walked back to Royal Tombs

Because we enjoyed the Royal Tombs so much, we spent more time checking them out in a different light. As the day progresses, you’ll notice that every sight looks different as the sun moves from east to west.

10:15am Began the Ad-Deir (Monastery) Trail

This is likely the farthest and most challenging hike you will make during your time at Petra. There is a lot of uphill walking, a lot of stairs, a lot of donkeys, and a lot of annoyingly aggressive vendors.

On a side note: PLEASE DO NOT RIDE A DONKEY! I’ll explain why a little later.

11:30am Reached Ad-Deir (Monastery) and had lunch

After about an hour and 15 minutes of hiking, we reached the Monastery. This is a MUST SEE at Petra. If you only have time for one place, go there! We also managed to get some pictures with no other people in them, as it’s not possible for everyone to make the difficult trek all the way there.

We bought some overpriced hummus wraps from a vendor and sat on a nearby bench for a while and simply admired the site!

12:00pm Relaxed on a rock and had a brief siesta

We were pretty tired and this point and found a comfortable rock with a great view of the Monastery. We relaxed there for about 30 minutes or so, and I believe we both fell asleep lying in the sun!

12:30pm Walked up to a viewpoint of desert

After our siesta, we followed a handwritten sign that read, “Best View”. This led to a lookout point over the desert and of course, a vendor selling tea, souvenirs, and snacks. Thankfully, this time another sign stated that there was no charge for looking at the views.

Again, I find it ridiculous and insulting that locals block the views and demand payment at a paid tourist site!

1:45pm The Lion Triclinium

After taking in the views, we began making our way back down the Ad-Deir trail and stopped at The Lion Triclinium. It consists of an entrance carved in the rock wall that resembles a keyhole. On both sides of it are weather-worn lions. It is a pretty interesting pit-stop to check out along the Ad-Deir trail.

2:30pm Returned to the Treasury then walked to exit

At this point of the day, we were beginning to get pretty tired and worn down from all the vendors and decided to take the main trail back to the exit. We took a few minutes to enjoy the Treasury on the way by (however, it was really crowded!).

Along the path, we took a short break near some elephant carvings in the rocks to get off our feet.

3:30pm Returned to main gate and went to the visitor center

We reached the main gate and checked out the informative visitor center. There is a lot of really cool and useful information in a museum-like setting. However, we did find it quite unsettling that the park does not enforce any of the advice it gives tourists. More on that later.

4:15pm Left the park

After a grand total of almost 36,000 steps, we were ready to head back to our hotel, relax and have a nice dinner!

A Few Tips

• Get there when the park opens. I already talked about how important that is.
• Wear comfortable shoes and clothing. You’ll be doing a lot of walking. Petra is not a religious site so you do not have to cover your shoulders, legs, or head. However, Jordan is a Muslim country so it is important to be aware of what you’re wearing. We saw girls wearing booty shorts and short skirts being followed and having their pictures taken by local men.
• Bring food, water and sunscreen. Even though the weather can get cool before the sun comes out, it does get pretty hot during the day. Don’t worry, there are toilets sporadically placed throughout the park. Be sure to look at the map to find them. There are also places to buy food and water, but try to bring your own since things are overpriced.
• Beware of the Petra romance scam. If you are a female solo traveler and a guy who looks a heck of a lot like Jack Sparrow starts talking to you, put your guard up. Hundreds of girls have fallen for these guys and end up losing a lot of money. Read up on it if you don’t believe me!
• Do not ride a donkey, buy pieces of Petra, or buy things from children. Read about why below.

Final Thoughts

Petra is a gorgeous archaeological masterpiece that should have measures taken to ensure its survival. In its current state of over-tourism, the site will continue to decay unless something changes.

In the visitor centre, the video provides the following advice to tourists:

Do not purchase a souvenir that is a piece of the site itself, as it may be harmful to
Petra’s future
Do not ride donkeys, as it is bad for the donkey’s well-being and their hooves damage the site
Do not purchase items from children, as they should be in school

None of these rules are enforced by anyone! There are vendors everywhere, which often blocks the view of the incredible scenery. There are hundreds of donkey rides happening everywhere, and children harassing tourists to buy souvenirs.

If Petra is actually an important heritage site, it should be treated as such.

Unless someone enforces these rules, it will only continue to get worse. My final advice would be that if you haven’t already been there, get there soon, as the site may not be around much longer if it continues to be destroyed.