Considering the fame and rave reviews of Petra, this review will focus on the lesser known aspects of visiting this magnificent ancient city, rather than convincing the reader to visit it. 

Alternative Entrance via Little Petra

Although back entrance/trail to Petra has existed for a while now, it has only been very recently that it has become more conveniently accessible.  If you are visiting Petra for two or more days, I strongly recommend using the back trail on one of those days. 

First, a short overview of Petra's layout may be necessary to properly describe why a visitor should consider the back trail.  The Monastery (Ad-Deir) is one of the highlights of Petra, probably second only to the Treasury (Al-Khazneh).  In order to get to the Monastery from the main entrance/Petra Visitor Centre, you must first walk the 8 kms long main trail, which passes through the famous As Siq, the Treasury, the Street of Façades, the Theatre, the Colonnaded Street, and Qasr al-Bint.  Once you reach the end of the main trail, you then have the choice of climbing further 2.5 kms (involving 800 steps) to reach the Monastery.  You will then have to return via the same 10.5 kms to exit Petra through the main entrance.  

Rather than try to cram the many sights on the main trail and the Monastery on the same day, I recommend that you visit the Monastery on another day through the back trail via Little Petra (Siq al-Barid), which will expose you to landscapes that most visitors will not experience and reduce the number of times you traverse the same main trail (compared to entering Petra through the main entrance on multiple days).

The back trail recently became more accessible because there is now a free shuttle bus to Little Petra.  You can find these shuttle buses at the Petra Museum parking lot near the main entrance.  Ignore the taxi drivers who will either pretend that the free shuttle buses do not exist or try to convince you that the buses run too infrequently to be convenient for you.  Please note that you will need your Petra entry ticket (not your Jordan Pass) to take the shuttle bus and gain entrance to the back trail.

After a comfortable 15-minute ride, you will be dropped off at the entrance to Little Petra.  Little Petra is a worthwhile place to visit, and it is small enough that a 30-minute exploration may be sufficient.  At the Little Petra entrance, there will be government operated jeeps ready to take tourists to the back entrance trailhead.  The cost of the jeep is 5 JD per passenger.  The jeep ride on bumpy dirt roads is in itself a fun adventure.

The back trail to the Monastery is very well marked and provides amazing views of the surrounding landscapes.  Although the trail does climb, it is not rigorous.  After approximately 2 kms, you will see the top of the Monastery.  After a few more steps, the Monastery will fully reveal itself to you.  After visiting the Monastery, you can leisurely take the 800 steps down (rather than up) to the main trail, while pitying those sweating their way up the opposite way.

The Painted Biclinium and The Painted Room

Other than an empty room, there isn't much to see inside the Nabataean tombs and structures.  The two exceptions are the Painted Biclinium in Little Petra and the Painted Room in Petra. The Painted Biclinium contains stunning frescoes of grapes and vines.  The Painted Biclinium is easy to find and access as it is located on the main path of Little Petra. 

The Painted Room, where the original wall paintings and designs survived, is easier to miss even though it is marked on the tourist map that you receive at the Petra Visitor Centre.  There were no other visitors near it when I visited the Painted Room.  Apparently, the Painted Room is supposed to be locked, but the gate was open when I explored it.  The Painted Room is in the wadi across from the Basin Restaurant.  Look for a little path that leads up the wadi wall.

The Treasury Overlook

The Treasury overlook - if you scrolled through social media photos of Petra, you've seen it - and the trail to the overlook were closed when I visited and not accessible to visitors.

Bedouins

What surprised me about Petra was the number of Bedouins that actually lived in the tombs and caves of the ancient city.  Guide books gave me the impression that only one elderly Bedouin man stayed when others moved to a more modern nearby village.  If that was ever true, then people have certainly moved back to Petra.  According one Bedouin that I spoke to, there were 100 families that resided in Petra.  Their presence made Petra feel less like an open air museum and more like a still evolving place.

Prior to visiting Petra, I also read about its aggressive touts and souvenir sellers.  I did not experience any such aggressiveness during my two-day exploration.  A simple polite "no thank you" was sufficient for a would be salesperson to leave me in peace.

Jordan and Petra during the Crisis in Gaza

I visited Jordan in March 2024.  Not only has the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza affected many Jordanians in a very personal way (more than 2 million Palestinian refugees live in Jordan), but it has had an acute effect in its tourism industry.  Despite Jordan still being a very peaceful and politically stable country, foreign visitors have stayed away from Jordan since the attacks began.  A number of Jordanians in the tourism industry informed me that the number of visitors to their country had declined by 80%-90% compared to the year prior.  Petra was certainly not the crowded place that I saw on past social media videos and photos.