Petra: what to see, where to stay and how to get around

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Petra was the capital of the Nabataeans, Arab traders who grew rich carrying incense, myrrh and spices from Arabia to the Mediterranean, and who carved their city into the red sandstone. Rome annexed it in the year 106, and after earthquakes it was forgotten by the West for centuries. Start at seven in the morning, before the heat and the crowds; two to three hours to here and back, more to go on.

A short history of Petra

The Nabataeans, a people of traders who carried incense and spices between Arabia and the Mediterranean, made Petra their capital as early as the 4th century BC. They carved temples and tombs into the sandstone, the most famous of which, the "Treasury", was carved in the 1st century AD. In 106 Emperor Trajan annexed the Nabataean kingdom to the Roman Empire, and Petra began to decline as the trade routes shifted. An earthquake in 363 destroyed much of the city. For centuries only the Bedouin knew of it, until the Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt reached it in 1812. It was declared a World Heritage Site in 1985.

The ten best sights in Petra

1
Wadi Musa
The town above the gate, with the hotels
2
Petra Museum
The Nabataeans’ story before you go in
3
Djinn Blocks
Square stone blocks on the path in
4
Obelisk Tomb
A tomb crowned with four obelisks
5
The Siq
The narrow canyon into the city; start at seven
6
The Treasury
The famous façade at the end of the Siq
7
Street of Façades
A row of carved tombs
8
The Theatre
A theatre carved out of the rock
9
High Place of Sacrifice
An altar on the mountain; a steep climb
10
Royal Tombs
The great tombs in the cliff; best in afternoon light

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What is an audio walk?

Tours in Petra →

A guide in your headphones: open the walk on our site, walk from stop to stop, and at each one your phone tells its story. No guide, no group, and free. This is the first walk in Petra:

Free walking tours in Petra

Through the Siq to the Treasury

Petra Museum · Opened in 2019 at the gate, it tells who the Nabataeans were: nomads who became traders, wrote in a script that grew into the Arabic alphabet, and controlled the caravan routes through the desert.
Djinn Blocks · Three great square blocks of rock carved free of the hillside beside the path. Nobody is sure what they were — perhaps tombs or monuments to the gods; the Bedouin called them djinn blocks, the homes of spirits.
Obelisk Tomb · A tomb whose façade is crowned by four tall obelisks, thought to stand for the people buried inside, carved above a banqueting hall where the family held feasts for the dead.
The Siq · A natural cleft about one point two kilometres long, with walls up to about eighty metres high and in places only a few metres apart. Along both sides run the channels the Nabataeans cut to carry water into the city, and they built a dam at the entrance to turn aside the flash floods.
The Treasury · At the end of the Siq the façade appears through the gap, carved into the cliff in the first century, probably as the tomb of a Nabataean king. The Bedouin believed a pharaoh had hidden treasure in the urn at the top and fired at it; the bullet marks are still there. It was the temple of the Holy Grail in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
Street of Façades · Beyond the Treasury the valley widens into a row of tomb façades with stepped tops, the style the Nabataeans took from Assyria. Petra has hundreds of such tombs, and the city of the living, built of stone, has mostly fallen; the city of the dead, cut into the rock, survived.

The city centre and the Monastery

Past the theatre the valley opens into the heart of the city: royal tombs, a Roman street, temples and a church — and then about eight hundred steps up to the greatest façade of all. A full day with the first route; bring lots of water and good shoes.

The Theatre · A theatre cut out of the mountainside around the time of Christ for several thousand spectators. To widen it the builders cut through older tombs, whose open chambers can still be seen in the rock above the seats.
Royal Tombs · A row of great tombs in the cliff face, their sandstone striped red, pink, yellow and white. The largest, the Urn Tomb, was turned into a church, as an inscription records, in the year 446.
Byzantine Church · A church with fine mosaic floors of animals and the seasons. In 1993 archaeologists found here a cache of about a hundred and fifty carbonised papyrus scrolls of the sixth century, burned in a fire — the records of a family of the city, which scholars have slowly deciphered.
Colonnaded Street · The main street of the city, paved and lined with columns after the Romans took over in 106, with markets on one side and temples on the other. At its end stood a monumental gate.
Qasr al-Bint · The main temple of Petra, one of the very few buildings of the city that was built rather than carved and still stands. Its name means the palace of the pharaoh’s daughter, from a Bedouin legend; it was probably a temple of the Nabataean god Dushara.
The Monastery · At the top of about eight hundred rock-cut steps stands a façade about forty-seven metres high, larger than the Treasury. It was probably a temple or a hall for a deified king; crosses carved inside in Byzantine times gave it the name Monastery. The light on it is best in the afternoon.

Moses, Aaron and the red rock

The valley’s Arabic name, Wadi Musa, is the valley of Moses, and local tradition places here the spring Moses struck from the rock and the tomb of his brother Aaron. For Israelis, Petra was for decades a forbidden dream. Half a day, or more with the hike to Aaron’s tomb.

Wadi Musa · Local tradition holds that the spring at the top of the town, Ain Musa, is where Moses struck the rock and water came out for the Israelites. A small domed building covers it, and its water still flows down toward Petra.
Petra Visitor Centre · In the 1950s Petra, across a closed border, became a legend among young Israelis, and some crossed illegally to see the red rock; about a dozen were killed on the way. Haim Hefer’s song The Red Rock was kept off the radio for fear it would encourage more. Since the peace treaty of 1994 Israelis can come openly, many through the crossing at Eilat.
High Place of Sacrifice · A stair cut into the mountain climbs to a flattened summit with an altar, a basin and drains for the blood of sacrifices, one of the best-preserved Nabataean high places. From the top the whole valley of Petra lies below.
Jabal Harun · The highest mountain around Petra, crowned by a small white shrine that local tradition identifies as the tomb of Aaron, the brother of Moses, who died on Mount Hor. In 1812 the Swiss traveller Burckhardt, disguised as a Muslim pilgrim, said he wished to sacrifice a goat at the tomb — and so became the first European in centuries to see Petra.
Little Petra · A small canyon north of Petra where caravans stopped, with houses, cisterns and halls cut into the rock. In one hall the ceiling still carries a rare Nabataean painting of vines, birds and cupids, two thousand years old.
Ammarin Bedouin Camp · The Bedouin of the Bdul tribe lived in the caves of Petra until 1985, when it became a world heritage site and they were moved to a new village nearby. Near Little Petra a Bedouin camp hosts guests for a dinner of zarb, meat roasted in a pit in the sand, and a night under the desert stars.

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Getting to Petra and getting around

Petra Visitor Centre · The gate and ticket office; buy the Jordan Pass in advance

Cheap eats in Petra

Jordan eats mansaf, the national dish: lamb cooked in jameed, a sauce of dried fermented yoghurt, over rice and flatbread, eaten from a shared tray. Around Petra the Bedouin make zarb, meat and vegetables roasted in a pit under the sand, and serve sweet sage tea. Falafel and hummus in Wadi Musa are the cheap meal.

Wadi Musa · Mansaf and falafel in town
Ammarin Bedouin Camp · Zarb from the sand oven
Petra Visitor Centre · Coffee and supplies before the gate
Qasr al-Bint · Lunch at the restaurants inside the site

Museums in Petra

Petra itself is the museum — over two hundred and sixty square kilometres of tombs, temples and channels, a world heritage site since 1985.

Petra Museum · The Nabataeans
The Treasury · The famous façade
Royal Tombs · The striped rock
Byzantine Church · The mosaics
The Monastery · The great façade

Nature and day trips near Petra

Petra lies in the mountains of Edom, about a thousand metres high: cold winter nights, hot summer days, and trails over the sandstone to views over the Arava.

High Place of Sacrifice · The climb and the view
Jabal Harun · A full-day hike
The Monastery · Viewpoints toward the Arava
Little Petra · The trail back to the Monastery

Things to do in Petra with kids

With children: the Treasury of Indiana Jones, caves to climb into, donkeys and camels, and a night in a Bedouin tent. Long walks in the heat are hard for small ones.

The Treasury · Indiana Jones’s temple
Street of Façades · Tombs to peek into
Ammarin Bedouin Camp · A tent under the stars
Little Petra · A short canyon walk

Holy places in Petra

Petra holds Nabataean high places and temples, Byzantine churches, and the traditions of Moses and Aaron.

High Place of Sacrifice · The Nabataean altar
Qasr al-Bint · The temple of Dushara
Jabal Harun · The tomb of Aaron
Wadi Musa · The spring of Moses

Nightlife in Petra

Nights in Petra are quiet: Petra by Night lights the Siq and the Treasury with candles three evenings a week, and there is one famous bar.

The Siq · Petra by Night
Cave Bar · A drink in a two-thousand-year-old tomb
Ammarin Bedouin Camp · Stars over the desert

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Frequently asked questions about Petra

What is there to see in Petra?

The top sights in Petra are Wadi Musa, Petra Museum and Djinn Blocks. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.

How many days do you need in Petra?

Three to four days are enough to see the best of Petra without rushing, including at least one walking tour.

Is there a free walking tour in Petra?

Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Petra, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: Through the Siq to the Treasury.

How do you get to Petra and get around?

The main ways are Petra Visitor Centre. Full details are in the transport section on this page.

Where to stay in Petra, and for how much?

sleepntrip shows only rooms in Petra that meet nine conditions: a good location, high guest scores, cleanliness, and a price of up to $80 a night for two. Pick your dates and see what is free.

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