Petra, Jordan

We arrived in Amman early, rented a car, and made our way immediately towards Petra. 

If you are headed to Jordan, I highly recommend the Jordan pass. This pass covers your entry visa to the country as well as numerous other sites, including Petra. 

We picked our hotel (The Movenpick) because it was conveniently located directly across the street from the entrance to Petra, so after lunch, we walked out our door ready to explore. Ever since I saw Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade, I'd wanted to visit - it didn't disappoint!

Now, I used to think "Petra" meant just the Treasury - when in reality, Petra is HUGE! Each time you enter, you have to walk through the Siq for about 30 minutes to arrive at the iconic Treasury. Our first day, we decided to do this and also hike the Main Trail, passing the Royal Tombs, Street of Facades, and the Amphitheater. 

From there, the Al Khubtha Trail branches off to the left and you can hike to the epic Treasury viewpoint. In total, this walk/hike took us about 1.5 hours one way, stopping for pictures along the way. The last 30 minutes is basically straight uphill, but the payoff was amazing!

Once you get there, you pay a small "fee" by purchasing a tea, water, etc. and you get access to this incredible spot. We enjoyed the view for a while before heading back down.

By the time we left, it was getting dark - we actually needed our phone lights to guide us out of the cavern! We hadn't planned on checking out Petra By Night because I had heard it wasn't worth the price. Luckily, we got treated to a free show since they were setting up the candles throughout the Siq.

The next morning, we walked through the Siq along the Main Trail, but then took the Monastery Route this time. We heard that there were around 900 steps to reach the top, so we made a game of counting 100 steps at a time to keep our spirits high. In the end, it was WAY easier than the hike we'd done the day before!

We got there before most of the crowds had arrived and there was a nice little cafe to sit, have a drink, and enjoy the views. Once it started getting crowded, we trekked down. The most annoying thing about this route was all the people taking donkeys up to the top. The path was small and jumping out the way got super old super quick. 

Once we got back down, we had some time before we needed to check out, so we explored some random caves and Jason climbed up to another temple.

We had such a great few days exploring Petra - and we barely scratched the surface! It was nice and cool when we went as well, so I was really happy with the timing of our visit.

Up Next: We drove to Wadi Rum for a unique experience - staying in a Bedouin camp!