Jordan Guide
Petra and around
Petra
After Wadi Musa, PETRA comes as an assault on the senses. As you leave the entrance gate behind, the sense of exposure to the elements is thrilling; the natural drama of the location, the sensuous colouring of the sandstone, the stillness, heat and clarity of light – along with a lingering, under-the-skin quality of supernatural power that seems to seep out of the rock – make it an unforgettable adventure. There's enough to explore that you could easily spend days or weeks in the place. Shelling out for a one-day ticket will have you running around like crazy to get value for money; four days gives you time to pace yourself and explore to your heart's content.
Unmissable highlights include the Siq, the Treasury, the High Place of Sacrifice, the Monastery, a walk up the Colonnaded Street, and the Royal Tombs. With a break for lunch, and a little time for personal exploration, seeing all this would occupy a pretty exhausting ten-hour day.
If you have even one extra day, your options widen considerably. Choosing an entry or exit route other than the Siq for one trip – via Madras, Wadi Muthlim/Mataha or Wadi Turkmaniyyeh – can give you a feel for outlying landscapes. Depending on your taste for archeology or nature, you could then devote more time to exploring the city centre slopes and the East Cliff, or choose one or two of the many hikes and climbs. You should also budget some downtime to take in the extraordinary late-afternoon views from the Qasr al-Bint up the Colonnaded Street towards the fiery East Cliff.
Petra By Night
Price: JD12 T Opening time: The trip leaves every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday at 8.30pm from the Visitor Centre (arrive 15min early to register), and delivers you back to the Visitor Centre around 10.30pm "Petra By Night" is an after-dark guided excursion into the ancient city that adds an entirely new dimension to your experience of the place; the candlelit walk, leaving the lights of Wadi Musa behind to enter the pitch-dark valley in silence (talking and mobile phones are banned), is magical. Nothing can match the atmosphere of walking through the Siq at night, with only the light of candles placed every few metres to guide the way. The climax comes as you reach the Treasury plaza, where candles throw flickering shadows onto the great facade as a bedouin musician plays on a pipe. The magic lingers while tea is served and you listen to a story told by a local guide.
. You must book in advance, either through your hotel or directly with a local tour company: Petra Moon is the most reliable.
"Petra By Night" has become so popular that it's not uncommon to have 150 or 200 people doing the walk. The best advice in these circumstances is to linger at the very back of the crowd: that way, you avoid most of the chatter on the way down and will be walking through the Siq more or less alone in the moonlight. The bedouin piper keeps playing until everyone has arrived at the Treasury, so you won't miss anything. Then there's nothing to stop you heading back early, before the crowd, for another lonesome walk in silence through the Siq, beneath moon and stars.
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