Petra, is in my opinion one of the most high-ranking of all World Heritage Sites and if you are planning a visit, make sure you take your time. The ancient Nabataean, and later Roman, town is spread out over a large area and the alternative to walking is to use horse, camel or donkey so you’d better be a true friend of animals…

Traditionally, you enter Petra through the 1,2 km winding old canyon called The Siq, where the water once carved its way through the red sand stone over thousands of years. The many colors of the Siq has named Petra “Rose city” and the swirls and shades in the stone are just as fantastic as the ancient monuments.

After having slowly made your way through the Siq, you catch your first glimpse of The Treasury, a classical view of the most classical of all Petra temples. The amphitheatre and the many other enormous grave monuments are all carved out of the stone and after some further walking you reach the lower town and what was once the Roman area. Here you can relax at the restaurant before you decide whether you head back (4 km) or continue even further…!

My recommendation is to allow at least two days to visit Petra. And don’t go there in the summer when the temperature could rise above +40. But once you are there, don’t forget to also include an excursion to the most beautiful desert sceneries you’ve probably ever going to see in your life – Wadi Rum, 2 hours south towards Aqaba – where David Lean once filmed his masterpiece Lawrence of Arabia.