sLOVEnians travel

Walking through the winding gorge named Siq, impatiently waiting for the treasury to appear in front of my eyes after waiting for probably 15 years. Yes, I had to wait this long to visit this marvelous wonder. And oh boy, I enjoyed it ❤

We had a 2 day pass to Petra, but I wanted to share with you a route for fit travelers, who have just 1 day and still want to see as much as possible.

Keep in mind, that during this season the sun sets  around 16:30 and the gate closes at 17:00, but you can leave after that.

Start your day at 6:00 and walk to the Treasury. Take some people free photos and admire the sight in rare serenity.

Walk past the amphitheater and go right to see the royal tombs.

Stick to the Al Khubtha Trail (on the free map from the entrance gate this is the green trail, in Lonely planet this is the Treasury Vista II trail) and follow the stairs up the hill. After about 40 minutes you’ll reach the top. From here you just need to descent and soon you’ll get a glimpse of the treasury. At the end of the trail a beduin set up a tent from where you’ll have an amazing view of the Treasury. He sells tea and coffee for 2JD. The sun lights the Treasury between 9AM and 10AM (end of December!), so try to be there around this time.

Walk back the same route. When you’re back on the main path aka Colonnaded street, take a look at all the temple ruins on your left (and a few right), before heading for the next destination – The Monastery.

Now head straight for the 1000 steps to the Monastery. You’ll pass many sellers, many donkeys will pass you. If you’re interested in buying something – scarves are between 3-5JD, the lovely hard handbags are around 7-12JD, drinks in cans and water is 1-2JD, tea and coffee is 2JD. Of course you can rent a donkey, but we felt to sorry for them and we like hiking.

After the climb a beautiful stone carved Monastery will open up on your right side. Just opposite is a café with very good coffee and tea (2JD), the sandwiches for 3-4JD are also good and for all the Asian-lovers they have cup noodles for 2JD.

No, this is not the end. There are 3 more lookouts you need to check out. Walk behind the café on the hill and you’ll see people on a pile of rocks. When reaching that you’ll find signs for “world’s best view” – and another 2 lookouts are just a few minutes walking further. If you made this far, you can make it. 😉

Ok, now turn around and walk all the way back down past the Monastery to the Colonnaded street. You need to pass the amphitheater and before the restaurant turn right and walk up the stairs to High Place of Sacrifice. You’ll need around 40 minutes to reach the top. On top, which is a sacrificial platform, just walk to the rim, from where you can see the royal tombs – there’s a nice beduin, which will gladly chat with you aaand he has the cheapest tea in Petra for just 1 JD. From here (or a bit back up at High sacrifice) you can watch the sunset.

After sunset start walking down to have some daylight on the trail. When reaching the main trail it’s not a problem if it’s dark, because it’s mainly flat.

Anyway, if you walk all these trails, you will most likely walk around 32.000 steps.

In general this could be your itinerary:
6:00 be at the gate
6:30 arrive at the Treasury
7:00 start walking towards the Royal tombs
7:20 take a look at the Royal tombs
8:00 start walking the Al Khubtha Trail
9:00 arrive at the Treasury viewpoint
10:00 start walking down
10:45 take a look at the ruins left on the Colonnaded street
11:30 start walking toward the Monastery
12:30 arrive at the Monastery, have a break for lunch, coffee, tea …
13:30 walk to the viewpoints and lookouts near the Monastery
14:30 start walking back
15:30 pass the Amphitheater and start walking to High place of Sacrifice
16:00 have a look around the High place of Sacrifice, have a tea with the beduin and wait for the sunset
16:45 after sunset start walking down
18:00 around this time you’ll be out

Yes, we were super exhausted after this long day of walking up and down, but it was worth it. Petra caught us by surprise – we expected a very commercialized, crowded and touristy attraction. And I won’t lie, it’s touristy, but because it is sooo big, you can easily find peace and quiet (just don’t expect it to be next to the Treasury or Monastery 😉 ).

We also spoiled ourselves and went to Petra by night, which was such a surreal experience. But more about that next time 😉

We also made a vlog in Petra, but it’s in Slovenian language. But you can still enjoy the cinematography. Pssst – there’s a nice time lapse of the sun sliding down the Treasury 😉 You’re welcome 😀