Petra, the ancient city in Jordan, is a place that should be on everyone's bucket list. It's one of the most popular tourist spots in the world, with millions of people visiting each year. Most visitors kick off their adventure at the visitor centre in Wadi Musa, the gateway to Petra. From there, you'll make your way through the Siq, a stunning narrow canyon with towering walls that stretch up to 80 meters high. After walking through this beautiful passage, you'll reach the famous Treasury, an incredible temple carved right into the sandstone. But here's the thing—the Treasury is just the tip of the iceberg! Petra is a massive ancient city with tons more to see. You'll find everything from the impressive Royal Tombs and an ancient theatre to majestic temples and even a monastery. There’s so much history and beauty to soak in—you’ll definitely want to take your time exploring it all!
That's why, when we visited Petra, we spend 2 days here. On the first day, we took the traditional route and navigated ourselves through the Siq all the way to the Treasury. We did this late afternoon, not long before closing time, and managed to beat a lot of the tourists who are visiting Petra on a one-day guided tour. Like this we got to enjoy walking through the impressive Siq without the company of hordes of fellow travellers.
On the second day, we opted for a lesser-known hiking trail that takes you from Little Petra to the Monastery in Petra, which makes this an excellent option if you are looking to beat the crowds when starting your visit in the morning. The hike goes along an old Nabataean route through the valley amidst sandstone mountains and follows ancient steps up the mountain leading to the Monastery. The steps have recently been renovated, so the path is in excellent condition.
In this guide we'll share all you need to know before strapping on your hiking boots and explore Petra without the crowds. We'll also share our experience on how to get back to your car in Little Petra after hiking the back door route, so read all the way to the end if you want the scoop on how to get yourself on the free shuttle bus from the Petra visitor centre.
Why visit Petra via the back door route?
Why should you consider taking the back door route to Petra?
You skip the crowds by walking the way less popular back door route to the Monastery. Having done both, I can confidently say that walking in a deserted sandstone landscape and getting treated by a beautiful sight of the Monastery was one of my personal highlights of my trip to Jordan.
You don’t have to walk the same way twice. Coming from a different route rewards you with other views of Petra.
You skip the 800 steps you have to conquer when visiting the Monastery from the main entrance. The Monastery is about 5.6 km from the main entrance and those steps are no joke in the heat of the desert!
You will be rewarded with amazing views over the surroundings of Petra and Jordan’s nature. If you decide to take a local guide, they will point out ancient the remains of ancient neolithic villages, Nabataean ruins and interesting rock formations.
You can have the Monastery almost all to yourself! If you arrive in the early morning, no one from the front entrance will have had the opportunity to already arrive at the Monastery.
The route
Your adventure starts at Little Petra, which is about 8 kilometers north of the main Petra site. Little Petra is like a mini version of Petra, with rock-carved buildings and a narrow canyon that opens up to some cool caves and courtyards. It’s a neat spot to check out before you start your hike! The official start of the trail is just left off the parking area. There is a little white structure where your ticket to Petra will be checked before you start hiking.
The first part of the hike is relatively flat and the scenery along the hike is absolutely stunning. You’ll pass by old Nabatean sites, like carved steps and ancient cisterns, and the landscape around you is full of colorful sandstone cliffs and valleys. The views are incredible, and you’ll probably want to stop a few times just to take it all in. This part follows the "road" quite well, but there is one part where instead of going around following the road, our guide decided to go off-road and cross to the other side of a little valley.
After about an hour and a half to two hours of hiking, you’ll start to get closer to the Monastery. This last part of the trail is pretty steep, with more steps carved into the rock. When you finally reach the Monastery, it’s a breathtaking sight. It’s even bigger than the Treasury and carved right into the cliff. And because it’s off the main trail, it’s usually a lot less crowded here, so you can really take your time to soak in the views and enjoy the peacefulness. There’s even a small café nearby where you can grab a tea or a cold drink and just relax.
The distance to reach the Monastery is about 7 km and took us a good 2-3 hours, but it's possible to skip the "flat" part by taking the 4x4 shuttle from Little Petra. For 5 JOD, you'll be brought to the start of the back door steps and it's about 45 min to reach the Monastery.
After you've reached the Monastery, you can continue on to explore the rest of Petra. The Ad-Deir trail takes you down 800 steps, which is an old processional route taken by the Nabataeans. From the Monastery it's another 5.6 km to the visitor centre.
Do you need a guide?
You don't necessarily need a guide to hike the back door trail to Petra, but having one can be quite helpful. The path is fairly straightforward for those with a good sense of direction and some hiking experience, but there aren't many signs, and it can be easy to miss the trail if you're unfamiliar with the area. And the downside of taking a less crowded route to Petra, is that it will be unlikely there are other people you can follow in their tracks.
A local Bedouin guide can provide insight, help you navigate, and share interesting stories about Petra’s history and culture along the way. It's also a nice way to give back to the local Bedouin community. We opted for a guide, and booked straight from our hotel. We paid JOD 50 for ours and he took us all the way to the Monastery, set us up with some nice Bedouin tea when we arrived and even took some pictures of us.
If you prefer to explore on your own, make sure you have researched the route, a good map or GPS, plenty of water, and wear comfortable hiking shoes.
Difficulty
The hike has a moderate difficulty level. The first section is relatively flat and you can opt to skip this part by paying for the transfer to the back door steps. The last section is quite steep but the path is recently renovated, and very safe to walk on.
What makes this hike challenging is the heat! So make sure to start really early to avoid the highest temperatures. We went to Jordan at the end of May (the end of the high season) and our guide picked us up at our accomodation at 6h30 AM. Make sure to bring sun protection and plenty of water, as there are no shops along the way.
Important
Don't forget you need a ticket for Petra when you take the back door route. You will have to stop by the visitor centre in Wadi Musa to purchase a ticket or exchange your Jordan Pass for an entrance ticket. Therefore, I would advise you to hike from the back entrance on your second day exploring Petra.
In our case, our entry ticket was checked at the start of the hike in Little Petra. There is no ticket booth on that side of the trail and we saw several people being turned away because they didn't have their tickets yet.
Getting back from Petra to Little Petra
If you are choosing, like we did, to hike from Little Petra to Petra through the back door, you probably need to head back to Little Petra to pick up your car once you have completed your visit. You might also have read there is a shuttle service that runs 2-3 times per hour (upon demand) from the Visitor Centre in Petra back to Little Petra.
This is where it becomes tricky! There is indeed a free shuttle service that leaves quite frequently from the visitor centre. However, the people running this service will come up with reasons why you wouldn't be eligible to make use of the service as it is only available to people wanting to visit the Little Petra site and return to Petra. They obviously want tourists to make use of a local taxi, instead of the free shuttle service. If you are on a tight budget, and want to use the free shuttle service, here is some advice to maximise your chances of getting on.
We tried to make use of this and we had disclosed to the people running the shuttle we hiked the back-door route and needed to get back to our car. This got us immediately kicked off the shuttle bus, as this wasn't a valid reason to use the shuttle service. You will need to state that you only want to visit Little Petra and return to Petra after. Don't give any other explanation, or they may find a reason not to let you make use of it.
We saw several tourists being turned away, and the shuttle was driving empty to Little Petra. We tried pleading with the people in the visitor centre, but weren't successful in getting us on. So in short, if you want to get on the free bus, stick to the partyline above and don't say anything else about your plans.
Overall, the back door hike from Little Petra to the Monastery is such a rewarding experience. It’s a beautiful, less crowded way to see Petra, and you’ll definitely feel like you’ve had a real adventure by the end of it! So, lace up your hiking boots, grab your camera, and get ready to experience Petra in a whole new way. Trust me, this hike will leave you with memories to cherish for a lifetime. Safe travels, and happy hiking!
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