Itineraries

Three Days in Petra: The Complete Route

Petra, JordanDecember 6, 20252 min read

A camel resting on the sand in front of the carved columns and pediment of the Treasury (Al-Khazneh) at Petra

The Treasury is only the opening act. A three-day plan that covers the Siq, the Monastery, the high places and Little Petra — without wrecking your legs.

Most visitors give Petra a single rushed day and leave having seen one facade. The ancient Nabataean capital is a full landscape of carved canyons, tombs and mountain trails, and three days is the amount of time it actually deserves. Here is how to structure them.

Key facts

Base: the town of Wadi Musa, at the site entrance
Entry: multi-day tickets cost only slightly more than one day; the Jordan Pass typically includes Petra — check current details on the official sites
Best months: spring and autumn; summer middays are brutally hot
Fitness: expect serious walking every day — sturdy shoes, sun cover, plenty of water

Day 1: The Siq, the Treasury and the main valley

Early morning. Be at the gate at opening time. The walk in passes the Djinn blocks and the Obelisk Tomb before the Siq — a winding, high-walled canyon over a kilometer long — swallows you. Walking it in soft early light, with the crowds still thin, is one of travel's great build-ups.

Mid-morning. The Siq releases you in front of the Treasury (Al-Khazneh), the carved facade that made Petra famous. Give it time from several angles as the light shifts.

Afternoon. Continue down the Street of Facades to the great rock-cut Theatre, then climb gently to the Royal Tombs for the classic late-day panorama over the valley. Walk back out through the Siq before dark.

The Monastery (Ad Deir) at Petra, its massive facade carved into the ochre rock hillside under a cloudy sky

Day 2: The Monastery and the museum

Morning. Cross the site to the far end of the Colonnaded Street and start the climb to the Monastery (Ad Deir) — roughly 800 rock-cut steps. Go before the heat builds. The reward is a facade even larger than the Treasury, shared with far fewer people; the viewpoints just beyond look out over a sea of desert mountains.

Afternoon. Descend slowly, rest over tea in the valley, and finish with the Petra Museum near the visitor center to put names and dates to everything you have seen.

Evening. Petra by Night — a candlelit walk through the Siq to the Treasury — runs on certain evenings only; check the current schedule and decide if the atmosphere appeals.

Day 3: The high places and Little Petra

Morning. If your legs are willing, take the High Place of Sacrifice trail: a steep climb to a Nabataean ritual platform with sweeping views, descending past tombs and wadis on the quieter back route.

Afternoon. Drive or taxi the few kilometers north to Little Petra (Siq al-Barid), a miniature carved canyon that once served the caravan trade. It is quick, quiet and a gentle coda to the main site.

Tip: Buy the multi-day ticket on arrival and start each day as early as the gates allow — in Petra, the first two hours of light are worth more than the rest of the day combined.

Still wandering?

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Sixty places, each with the one fact worth knowing before you go

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Planning

Petra, place by place

Everything below is named in one of our own stories about Petra. The line under each is the sentence that recommended it, and the link goes to the piece it came from.

Where to stay

The areas and addresses our writers put first

Mövenpick Resort Petra
Petra
Wadi Musa has accommodation at every level, from backpacker digs to the long-established Mövenpick Resort Petra directly opposite the gate.
Petra: Walking into the Rose-Red City Check prices
Wadi Musa town
Petra
The town climbs the hill in tiers of family-run hotels, from very simple to perfectly comfortable, and the pattern is consistent — the higher up, the cheaper, and the longer the walk (or the short taxi) down to the gate.
Boutique or grand: choosing your base at Petra Check prices
Near Little Petra
Petra
North of town, past the Bedouin village of Umm Sayhoun, the country opens out toward Little Petra and Beidha, and here the accommodation changes character entirely.
Boutique or grand: choosing your base at Petra Check prices

What to see

The things that justify the trip

Juli Kosolapova
Al-Khazneh
Al-Khazneh, the Treasury, is around 40 metres tall and best photographed mid-morning when sun reaches the facade.
Petra: Walking into the Rose-Red City See on the map
Pier Averara
The Treasury
The moment the rose-pink columns of Al-Khazneh appear through the last slot in the canyon is the kind of reveal people remember for decades, at any age, and it is the one thing on this trip that cannot be given back o…
Petra with kids: the family day that actually works See on the map
The Royal Tombs
Petra
Climb the steps to the Urn Tomb and its neighbours for the classic elevated view back across the valley.
Petra: Walking into the Rose-Red City See on the map
The Monastery (Ad Deir)
Petra
The site's grandest facade sits at the top of roughly 800 rock-cut steps, about an hour's climb from the basin.
Petra: Walking into the Rose-Red City See on the map
Theatre
Petra
Beyond the Treasury the canyon widens past rows of tombs to a 4,000-plus-seat Theatre, carved — not built — into the hillside in the first century AD.
Petra: Walking into the Rose-Red City See on the map
Urn Tomb
Petra
Petra: Walking into the Rose-Red City See on the map