Things to do
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Al-Khazneh
At the end of the Siq, a narrow cleft over a kilometre long, the Treasury appears as a slice of carved facade before opening fully into view. Hellenistic columns and urns front what was a Nabataean royal tomb, whatever the name suggests. Morning light reaches the face for a short window, and the forecourt fills quickly after that.
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Little Petra
Eight kilometres north of the main site, a short cold canyon holds Nabataean dining halls, cisterns and a painted ceiling of vines and cupids, one of few Hellenistic wall paintings to survive in the region. Visits run under an hour and entry is free. It also forms the start of a trail that reaches the Monastery from above.
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Petra
You reach Petra down a narrow gorge that ends at a tomb front nearly 40 metres tall. Beyond it you can spend a day walking a city carved out of the cliffs, then climb to the High Place of Sacrifice and the Monastery.
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Petra by Night
Candles in paper bags line the Siq and the Treasury forecourt on set evenings each week, with Bedouin music and tea in place of commentary. Tickets are separate from the day pass and sell out in high season. Phone cameras struggle in the dark, and the crowd is large enough that arriving with the first group matters.
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The Monastery
Some eight hundred rock-cut steps climb from the Basin restaurant area to a facade broader and plainer than the Treasury, set on an open plateau with a cafe opposite and viewpoints over the Arabah valley. The climb takes around forty minutes. Late afternoon puts the sun on the stone and empties the stairs of tour groups.
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High Place of Sacrifice
Steps cut into Jebel Madbah lead to a Nabataean altar platform on a summit above the whole basin, with obelisks and drainage channels still visible in the rock. Going up from the theatre and down past the Garden Tomb to the colonnaded street makes a circuit of roughly three hours. The descent is loose and uneven in places.
