Jordan
Petra, wonder of the world. You must have heard of it, or seen a photo of the facade of the Treasury. This place has been calling me for a long time. I can even say that it was one of my dreams to go there one day. It's done. And I had only one word in my mouth throughout: incredible. In this article you will find my advice for a visit to this famous site:
What is Petra?
Petra is an archaeological site located in Jordan. Petra means "rock" in ancient Greek. This Nabataean city has much to offer visitors.
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It was able to shelter, around the year 50, up to 25,000 inhabitants, who abandoned the city little by little.
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What characterizes this city are the many facades carved into the rock, whose dimensions are impressive. How did they do it back then!
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This wonder became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985 and tourists have been flocking ever since.
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Some Bedouins continue to live in the caves on the site of Petra today and you can come across them throughout the day. They live mainly from tourism today, selling souvenirs, and offering camel or donkey rides. (It's up to you with your conscience. The animals are not extremely well treated unfortunately and carry very heavy loads all day)
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Organize your visit to Petra
To get to Petra:
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- By car if you have rented one
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- By bus from Amman: with the company Jett bus for 10 JOD (12.77€) about 3-4 hours drive. Go to the website and book directly, or go to the office in town to get your ticket. It's very simple and the buses are very comfortable.
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- By bus from Wadi Rum: local bus for 7 JOD for about 2-3 hours drive. Departure at 9 a.m. There is a change to be made and it is not necessarily what I would recommend. Ask the company you went through for Wadi Rum to reserve a seat for you on this bus.
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Jett bus departs at 11 a.m. from the Visitor Center for 12 JOD
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- By taxi for around 40 JOD
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Where to stay in Petra?
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You will have to find a place to sleep on Petra itself to be closer to the site.
Attention : I did not know that the city of Petra extended in altitude. So I booked a place that was a 2km walk from the site entrance but uphill !! It's not disturbing because to go to the site it's downhill, but going back up after 20km of walking during the day is more complicated haha! Otherwise there is always the solution of taking a taxi to go back up. There are also quite a few accommodations at the foot of the site. For all budgets.
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Unfortunately I cannot recommend the place where I stayed, although it was incredible, because the owner closed the establishment definitively a few days later..
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How to organize your days
If you took the Jordan Pass (and that's what I recommend) you could choose the number of days you wanted to visit Petra . For my part, I had chosen the 2 days option.
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The site is open daily from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
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​ At the entrance they will check your Jordan Pass and they will give you a map of the site with the different trails to do.
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I obviously advise you to come as early as possible to be able to enjoy the Treasury in peace, without the mass of tourists in front. It's better for the experience, for the photos, and to enjoy the presence of the place.
Personally I arrived at the entrance at 7am, since coming before would not be of much interest as the sun was just rising, it would be very dark in the gorges. The time to walk quietly the Siq to arrive at the Treasury at 7:30 am where I could enjoy it for myself, with 2-3 others tourists.
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What to wear?
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Comfortable shoes because you will be walking a lot. Not necessarily hiking, sneakers or boots are enough.
For clothes, it's up to you, but (for women) remember to cover yourself a minimum, I mean no mini shorts etc, to respect the culture. In the summer, lightweight slouchy pants will do, and in low temperatures like I had, layering is the solution haha ! Because on arrival, the zero degrees were difficult but by dint of walking in full sun, I was hot and I even had sunburn !
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What to bring?
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Some water ! At least 2 bottles. Even in low temperatures you will be thirsty. And better too much than not enough because the bottles sold on site are much more expensive.
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A picnic, or you will find a few places to eat inside the site but there are not many.
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Sunscreen.
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An external battery.
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Sunglasses.
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And the rest is up to you !
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Which hikes to choose?
Honestly? They are all good. The site is amazing from start to finish, and in every corner.
The main interests of the site are:
- The treasury
- The monastery
- Theater
- The royal tombs
- The view of the Treasury from above
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These are therefore the most popular hikes and again, to go to the view from the top, many have not done their research and followed the Bedouins looking like Jack Sparrow who unfortunately rip off tourists . They will make you climb through a really unsafe place to arrive in 10 minutes at a not very high point of view and will ask you a lot of money for that.
While the hike is free, and passes by all the tombs to observe, you have an incredible view much higher, where you can enjoy a tea or any other drink in a Bedouin's tent.
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The unmissable hikes are:
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- Main trail (from the visitor center to the monastery. The longest. But on the map they indicate 7 hours of walking to take into account the extremes. I am not a great walker, I take a lot of time for photos and I could do it in less than 4 hours)
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- Al Khubtha Trail (to see the royal tombs and climb to the treasury view from above)
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- High Place of Sacrifice (to have a 360 degree view of the site and discover smaller facades)
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There are a total of 9 hikes. In 2 full days (from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.) and taking extremely my time, I was able to do 6 hikes of the map.
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NOTE : don't panic that they close the site at 6pm to rush you back from your hike. In the end, they will still let people off the site, even after 8 p.m. if they have to. They verify that no one is on the site.
And Little Petra?
Little Petra is another site located a little further. It is less impressive but still fun to do.
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By choice and by the timing of my trip, I made the choices not to visit Little Petra. There is a long hike that connects the site to Little Petra, but to return you will have to take a taxi or hitchhike on the road apparently. If you wish to do so, I encourage you to see with the locals to negotiate a driver for the day or half day.
My personal experience
Incredible, incredible, incredible! I know, I'm just repeating myself, and if you followed me in real time on Instagram, even more haha !
This site blew me away. I can say that I realized one of my dreams in style !
No problem being a single woman. The difficulty of the hikes is frankly not super hard. If like me you get out of breath quickly, a few breaks on the stairs and it's easy. Especially when you know the reward you will have at the end !
Honestly, I was more impressed with the Monastery than the Treasury. The fact that the view is clear and that the facade is even more imposing make this point my favorite. Throughout the hikes the landscapes are crazy, the facades, the tombs... You will never be bored !
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I also met Suleiman , a Bedouin living there. We spent almost 4 hours together the first day, I was guiding the donkeys, I went to have tea with the locals. An incredible moment where I was able to learn a lot about history. A guide sent from heaven, a very nice meeting who was not after my money and asked me nothing. I wanted to thank him by giving him a small money because during all this time he could have found another business with tourists.
These 2 days went by at breakneck speed, and I felt so good there that I seriously didn't want to leave.
Near my accommodation I met Hesham, a local holding a small restaurant. It was a friendship directly, naturally as if we had known each other for a long time. He also works with the energies and was able to feel my tensions. He manipulated me for free, at the back of the restaurant even has the floor haha. What an experience.
I also met Virginia , a Spanish vet who decided to move to Petra to take care of stray animals. And there is work! She brought back care equipment at her own expense and does it out of passion. She created an Instagram account that I share with you here, if you want to support her project that would be great: AlWadi Care
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​ To do it again I would do it again without hesitation, it is an essential and super rich visit. The kilometers accumulate as the day progresses but without effort. A moment engraved forever.
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I hope this article has given you even more desire to visit Petra and has enlightened you on the preparations for these incredible days that await you!