Have you ever been to see the city ruins of Petra? If so we would love to hear all about your experiences (perhaps with a photo or two). You can contact us via our contact page.

Essential Further Reading

Jordan
Lonely Planet Guide
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Ancient cities, desert landscapes and the most intriguing sea in the world: Lonely Planet's Jordan covers them all. But venture beyond Petra, Wadi Rum and the Dead Sea for activities coverage you won't find in any other guidebook. Hiking, scrambling, rock climbing, camel trekking, 4WD excursions - there's more adventure here than Lawrence of Arabia had time for.
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The ancient city of Petra was once the impressive capital of the Nabataean kingdom and an important trading centre for the silk, spice and other trade routes that linked China and Asia with Greece and Rome. Around 363AD, an earthquake destroyed much of the city and although known to locals throughout history, it then remained undiscovered by the Western World until 1812 when the Swiss traveller, Johann Ludwig, first wrote about it.

You enter Petra via a narrow winding shaded gorge flanked by 80m high rock walls and in parts only a few metres wide. Known as the Siq, it is almost a mile long and is an experience in itself.

As you emerge into Petra you are greeted by the awesome building known as Al-Khazneh or the Treasury. 30m wide, 43m high and carved out of the dusky pink rock-face, the Treasury dwarfs all around it. It was carved in the early first century as a royal tomb and despite the passage of time remains a beautiful building to this day, a true testament to the enginerring and building abilities of the Nabataeans.

It can become crowded, but if you are at The Treasury shortly after the archealogical park opens (6am or 6.30am depending on the season) you may well have this amazing building virtually to yourself. One suerprise - the inside of the Treasury is tiny compared to its grand facade.

Next you will come across the Street of Facades, a large canyon lined with the facades of various tombs which leads to the 3,000 seat open air theatre that was originally built by the Nabateans and later enlarged by the Romans.

The city was once covered a vast area and although much has been destroyed by earthquakes, there are still the obelisks, temples, sacrificial altars and colonnaded streets of a once thriving city. And there are around 500 tombs in total.

High above Petra, overlooking the valley, is the Ad-Deir Monastery, which can be reached by a flight of 800 steps cut into the rock. It is the largest carved building in the area and every bit as impressive as the Treasury - although again much smaller inside than its facade suggests.

If you have the energy and the heat allows it, you can also journey up to The High Place of Sacrifice. It contains elaborate rock altars once used for sacrifices and gives a fantastic overview of Petra itself.

The best time to see Petra is in the early morning or late afternoon, so plan for an early start or arrive the evening before and stay in a nearby hotel. It's generally cooler at these times and it's the best time to take photographs too.

Petra is in the south of Jordan, a three hour drive from the capital Amman on the modern Desert Highway or a more lesurely five hour journey on the more scenic Kings Highway. You can also get a bus or a taxi from Amman to Petra.

Motorised transport cannot enter Petra, but horse-drawn carriages, donkeys and camels can take you around the sites if you don't want to walk around. But whether you decide to use four-legged transport or not, don't forget to bring a a hat to keep the sun off your head and plenty of drinking water.