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Petra

Arabah, Aqaba, Jordan

Petra Visitors Center

Horse rides are available for the first 700m

The Treasury

Petra is an archaeological site in Jordan. It consists of a number of small buildings cut into large rock walls. After visiting Abu Simbel in Egypt, I thought Petra in Jordan would be something similar. I was disappointed! Petra didn't compare to Abu Simbel, although it was neat to see, and I am glad that I visited. I think I had the wrong impression about Petra - I thought it was just The Treasury (one particular site of Petra that was featured in an Indiana Jones movie), but Petra is a large number of small rooms and other sites that are all cut into the cliffs. Together, they compose the city of Petra.

We visited Petra as part of a 1-Day Petra Tour by Holit Tours. The site has a nice visitors center with ticket sales, and bathrooms that are relatively clean. There is usually someone in the bathrooms asking for money, but they're not very aggressive. In the visitors center, tickets for carriage rides can also be purchased (although I wouldn't recommend it - they look very bumpy and uncomfortable.)

After entering the site, there is a 700-meter walk in the sand before the path goes through a canyon. During this time, people on horses are offering to sell you horse rides. Don't believe them if they say the horse ride is free - they will ask for money before they let you off the horse. If you really want a ride, take a carriage ride on the way back up. The 700-meter walk is quite short, and easy to do without a horse ride.

The walk down the canyon is quite nice. Since the walls are fairly high, they block out most of the sun and keep it cool inside the canyon. The ground changes between rock and sand, but it is never very difficult to walk on. The ground slopes downward at a gentle angle; it is a very pleasant 2km walk down to The Treasury (the site most people think of when they think of Petra). The walk takes between 30-45 minutes, depending on your pace. Along the way, our tour guide pointed out some carvings, but they were mostly eroded, and hard to see. If you don't have a tour guide, don't worry - you're not missing much.

The Treasury was disappointing. Although the facade is beautiful, it is quite small on the inside, and visitors aren't permitted to go in. I was disappointed.

Past the treasury, it is another 500m walk to a theater. Around the theater, there are hundreds and hundreds of small tombs that are cut into the rock walls. If you're brave, you can climb up to the tombs and go inside. Unfortunately, they're now used as homes by either animals or people, and they all smell like urine. Don't let that deter you - some of the rock formations in the tombs are beautiful!

If you have more time, you can continue on the path for another hour or so, and reach The Monastery. We didn't have time, but The Monastery is another large site (like The Treasury). It is at a much higher elevation than the rest of the area, so it provides beautiful views.

Since the climb back to the visitors center is uphill, expect it to take longer than your descent. Allow 45-50 minutes from The Treasury to reach the visitors center. There are always lots of people offering you a ride if you're tired.

Cost

The rock formations in the tombs were beautiful

Admission to the site for one day costs 21 JD. Two day and three day admission is also available for 26 JD and 31 JD respectively. If you don't have Jordanian money available, they are able to change money for you in the visitors center, but you will probably be able to get a much better exchange rate elsewhere.

Estimated Visiting Time

The Theater

Allow a minimum of 2.5 hours to go and visit The Treasury. If you would like to also visit The Monastery, allow at least 5 hours. You could easily spend a full day exploring Petra.