I’m (slowly, thanks to the Pandemic) trying to visit all of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World. To date, I’ve managed to make it to three of them – one of which includes the Nabataean tombs and temples of Petra. Read on below to discover my top tips for visiting this incredible archaeological site in Jordan.
The Treasury from high up 
Walking through the Siq of Petra 
Emerging from the Siq to the Treasury 
Petra: the Treasury and Me!
1) Arrive early to Petra
An old proverb suggests that ‘the early bird catches the worm’. This saying couldn’t be more true than in relation to a visit to Petra. Before our visit we stayed overnight in the town of Wadi Musa (next to Petra) and we decided to arrive at the Visitor’s Centre/entrance to Petra for about 7AM in the morning. Large tour groups arrive by coach to Petra at around 9AM and so we wanted to take advantage of having the site to ourselves for a few hours.
An early morning walk through the Siq – a narrow pathway spanning a distance of 1.2 kilometres through a gorge with 200m-high rock walls – with very few other people around was incredibly special. However, nothing could be quite as magical as emerging from the Siq onto Petra’s best-preserved ruin, Al-Khazneh or ‘The Treasury’, without a vast number of other tourists around. Instead, there were approximately 10 of us peacefully enjoying daybreak at this incredible Wonder of the World. As evident from my photos above, I was able to take many photos of this remarkable carving without having huge numbers of other tourists in my shots.
2) Explore beyond the Treasury
Petra is an ancient city and so there is much to explore beyond simply just the Treasury, yet many visitors sadly leave the site immediately after checking out arguably the most elaborate and famous of the rock carvings. Those who do so therefore miss out on seeing other parts of the ancient city, such as the Street of Facades (burial interfaces), the Colonnaded Street and the Theatre as pictured below.
The Monastery should not be missed on a trip to Petra. This particular carving is around a two-hour return journey on foot from The Treasury.
The Street of Facades 
The Colonnaded Street 
Walking to the Monastery 
The Monastery 
The Theatre
3) Check the weather forecast in advance for Petra!
I imagine that, to some people, this tip may seem utterly pointless. However – you wouldn’t believe the number of people that I saw in Petra who had dressed inappropriately for the weather conditions. We visited in February and the weather was a (very windy) 8 degrees Celsius, yet I saw swarms of tourists arriving for day trips who were dressed in shorts, t-shirts and sandals. They looked frozen and had bought waterproof anoraks from the Petra gift shop, in attempt to provide some kind of protection from the cold wind.
Petra is a mere hour and a half drive inland from Aqaba on the Red Sea. On the same day that we visited a chilly Petra, it was 33 degrees Celsius and bright sunshine in the city of Aqaba (according to my weather app!). I imagine that the tourists in their Hawaiian board shorts had travelled up for a day trip to Petra from the warmer plains of Aqaba and had simply neglected to check the weather before embarking on their trip. Therefore, ensure that your choice of clothing doesn’t ruin your day by checking the weather in advance of your visit to Petra and dressing appropriately!
And – as a **bonus tip!** – avoid sandals whatever the weather. It takes half an hour to walk from the Visitor’s Centre to the Treasury and so you certainly want to be wearing sensible footwear, designed for walking, for this journey.
For more tips on visiting Jordan on general, check out my blog here.
Nice article. This is one place that is on my travel bucket list.
Thanks! Yes it’s absolutely a must-visit!
Oh, how lovely. Petra is so high on my travel bucket list 😍 Hope to get to see it in real life someday, Thank you for sharing these valuable tips.
It’s definitely an incredible experience – I was lucky enough to spend the day at Petra and then have a dip in the Dead Sea in the late afternoon, it was such a memorable day!
That sounds amazing! 🤩 So happy for you that you got to experience that.
Hey Hannah, I nominated you to take part in the Travel Challenge. You can post anything you wish. Please let me know if you accept the challenge 📸
https://wanderingexplorer.travel.blog/2020/12/22/travel-challenge-day-3/
Thanks Ann-Kathrin! Challenge accepted 👍😀
Great, I am looking forward to your pictures 😍
Petra is on my bucket list, as I’m also aiming to see all the Wonders of the World. I’ve also only made it to three, but I hope to get around to seeing them all once it’s safe to travel again. Thanks for sharing the beauty of Petra!
Which the have you seen so far? 😇
I’ve been to the Great Wall of China, Machu Picchu in Peru, and the Roman Colosseum in Italy. How about you?
I have been to the Roman Colosseum and the Taj Mahal. My significant other and I were just talking about how we would love to visit the Great Wall. It must be incredible 😍
Never been to the Taj Mahal, but I’m dying to go!
My three are (evidently) Petra, the Taj Mahal and the Colosseum. Seems as though we all have the Colosseum in common! 😀
Though not at the top, Petra is clearly on my list. Thank you very much for the tips! I’ve heard of potential danger in the area…anything to be concerned about from your experience?
Thanks for reading 😀! I think Jordan is often considered as a safe haven in the Middle East and I do largely agree with that statement but I did have the occasional moment where I felt slightly uneasy as a western female – mainly in the capital, Amman, which is close to the Syrian border – and then on the main roads there are a number of police checkpoints which initially worried me before I realised that, as long as you’ve got your ID documentation on you, these checks are completely fine. I felt completely comfortable at the tourist sights such as the Dead Sea, along with Petra though! The Jordanians I met were incredibly friendly and tolerant of different cultures 😀. I’ve written more about my experiences here if you’re interested: https://theatozoftravel.com/2020/04/24/5-things-to-know-before-travelling-to-jordan/
This is on my bucket list!
Good idea! Hope you get to visit it soon! 😀
Your photos are beautiful! I would love to go to Petra one day. Thank you for the tips.
That’s really kind, thank you 😀! I hope you manage to get there soon! 🤞🏽
We were actually planning on visiting Egypt this year and were contemplating extending our trip to go to Petra, but then the pandemic happened so we never finalized our plans (and luckily hadn’t booked our tickets yet!). But Petra is very high on my travel bucket list.
That’s a brilliant idea to combine both Egypt and Jordan into the same trip! I’ve never been to see the pyramids and would love to do so, might bump into you there one day haha! 😀
Striking photos! although I suspect it’s hard not to take one that isn’t at that site. Good advice.
Thank you – that’s very true, I have a whole album full of fantastic photos from Petra and I can’t say it’s anything to do with my photography skills haha! 😀
Such a great place to visit, Petra is on my list too😊 Great tips, people are often overlooking the most important things, such as weather or how to dress in a new country. Great post!
Thank you for taking the time to read my blog! I know, it’s amazing how many times I see people who haven’t dressed properly for their surroundings or for the weather conditions and it can seriously impact your day if you’re too cold or your feet are sore from inappropriate footwear!
Beautiful photos. I really want to visit this place someday. Thanks for the tips!
Thanks for reading – hope you make it to Petra soon! 🙂
This is another place I have always wanted to visit! Thanks for the beautiful photos and the tips!
Thanks for reading the post 🙂 I hope you manage to get to Petra soon!
I enjoyed this post. What an amazing place to visit. Lucky you.
Thank you, Petra was absolutely fascinating! It also happened to be my last trip before lockdown, so even luckier to squeeze this trip in!