What we did in the kingdom of Petra and the Great desert Wadi Rum
Marḥaba! Lisa here for our guide on what we did to see the famous UNESCO site Petra and Wadi Rum. I will also have additional information on the small town Wadi Musa. Let's get to it!
Petra is a Nabataean caravan-city. Nabataeans were an Arab tribe who inhabited the canyons and cliffs of Petra. Petra is half-built, half-carved into the rock, and is surrounded by mountains riddled with passages and gorges. It is one of the world's most famous archaeological sites and it was definitely on my bucket list in Jordan.
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Donkey riders in the valley who go up the Monastery |
We landed in Jordan at 2:05pm and we took a bus from the airport to the JETT bus services for a ticket from Amman to Wadi Musa. (Here's our
review on the Jett Bus service!)
I have to say Jordan is an expensive country to travel in! When converting their Dinar dollar to AUD it is very expensive! So when purchasing our tickets it costed us a whopping 90JD (Jordanian Dinar) for us to go from Amman to Wadi Musa (Petra is located here), a return bus from Petra to Wadi Rum and from Wadi Musa back to Amman. Now you think 'oh that doesn't sound to bad' butttt when you convert it over to AU it is $186.37! We did not have time to research if we could take a local bus to Wadi Musa but it's already done and we have our tickets in hand!
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Jett bus seat |
We arrived at Wadi Musa at 11am. We first wanted to drop off our heavy backpacks so we checked into our hotel then made our way to the gates of Petra. Sang and I had 2 days in Petra (including today!) so we had to get a move on!
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Our accomodation for the night |
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The entrance of the centre |
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Information for regarding the hours |
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How much carriages are at the entrance which I thought was useful |
So because of our time restrain today (again 😭) we decided to visit up to the Main theatre as we also wanted to take our time here. So here we go to wander through the areas of Petra.
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Wifi areas! |
Once you go through the passages of the rock mountain you see a familiar sight like a light at the end of a tunnel ...I couldn't contain my excitement any longer so I had to get there quick!
Finally after seeing this image in Google and in movies I can see the real one with my two eyes...
The Treasury or "Al-Kazna" of Petra! It is almost 40 meters high and intricately decorated with figures and more. The purpose of The Treasury is uncertain, some say it's for a memorial whilst others say it's a temple. Although a graveyard underneath the treasury was recently discovered. So now we are here to marvel at the structure and of course take photos with it!
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All that detailing that went into it! |
This place is really busy! So it was hard to take a photo without anyone cutting into your shot! After we were done with this we made our way to the main theatre.
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One of many vendors on site |
So the main theatre was only a short stroll from the treasury and it was nice to look at and imagine to how busy it would have been back in those days.
I have to say Petra is a really big area to explore! So in our second day we hiked to the Royal tombs and The Monastery.
We started with the longest hike, The Monastery. It was a really good walk (900 steps to the top yo!) and there was lot of beautiful formations (and cute animals!!) you can see on this walk. I would definitely reccomend it!
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Sang with his new travel buddy |
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The Royal Tombs from afar |
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Horses in my shot! But it looks good |
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The old road that they had built in the Nabateian era |
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Wild donkeys are so cutee |
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some more old sites when walking taken the path to the Monastery |
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A worker dressed up as a soldier |
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Into the valley we go! |
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Sang you're too brave! |
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One of the many local animals you will encounter on the hike. |
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The last store! |
You will hit one last set of shops at the top and there you have it the Monastery!
It is one of the largest monuments in Petra and dates back to the early 2nd Century AD. It was built on the model of "Al-Kazneh" or The Treasury but of course made bigger! After our long hike we used this place as our lunch spot (also found an took advantage a high point) to eat and view the spectacular monument we had walk to.
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Sang hiding food from the cat |
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It got fed up and went into my lap while glaring at Sang! |
After we had finished our lunch (and petting all the animals here) we made our way back down to go to the other hike "The Royal Tombs". The day was odd as it went from sunny to cloudy then back to sunny again! Definitely was sweating during this walk.
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Back down the valley we go! |
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Some local vendors |
So the walk to the Royal tombs from the monastery wasn't that bad and we made it down quite quickly (compared to the monastery hike I was dying at!).
The Royal tombs consists of 4 tombs discovered at Petra, Corinthian Tomb, Silk Tomb, Palace Tomb and Urn Tomb (the best one in my opinion!).
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A local taking a much needed nap |
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The Urn Tomb |
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The ceiling in the Urn Tomb |
After a long day of walking we ended our day at Sajiat restaurant for some much needed carbs.
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Local Jordanian food "Galaya" |
Petra was such a wonderful place to go to in my opinion and I would have loved to stay there for the full 2 days to explore the whole area and do more of the hikes! I would definitely recommend it if you like history and nature.
Small town - Wadi Musa
Wadi Musa is the town you will have to go to in order to see the site Petra. Like the city Amman, this town is also built on the hills that surrounds Petra. Besides Petra itself there are many restaurants in this area keeping it busy at night. Sang and I walked to the top of the hill that over looks the town and snapped some lovely photos.
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That night time view |
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Local shops in the area |
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Town still busy at 11pm at night! |
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Day time view of Wadi Musa |
The Sandy Desert of Wadi Rum
For our time in Wadi Rum we did not plan anything at all! I booked a one night Airbnb accommodation with a man Eid who used to live in the desert and wanted to show people how he was raised in the desert. I wanted to take this time to unwind and just relax in the desert.
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Wadi Rum Desert |
We were first picked up at the Wadi Rum visitor centre by Ali who had a ute waiting for us.
The ride was scary at first but Ali drove at a pace that did not make it uncomfortable at all. It was a great experience to see the desert like this!
After driving through the windy sand roads in Wadi Rum, Ali turns into the area we will be living as a Bedouin for the night. With no reception and nothing planned at all for this stay, we decided to walk around the desert and see the sunset over the dunes.
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Our huts for the night |
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Sang sipping on his tea |
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One, Two, Three JUMP! |
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I swear this is Pride Rock in Lion King |
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Sang climbing over rocks again |
When returning to the camp we were treated to tea, food and music! It was a wonderful experience and I would recommend anyone to do this Bedouin experience.
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Our Chef taking out chicken he made in the ground |
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My plate of goodies |
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The host and his friends playing music for us |
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Night time in the desert |
For us in Wadi Rum the host Eid did offer us some tours that he could organise but I declined as I really wanted to just lie back and just take it in that I'm in a desert for one night.
There you have it on what Sang and I did in Petra and Wadi Rum!
Thanks for reading and happy travels!
Lisa
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