The hook
A whole city carved into rose-coloured sandstone cliffs by an ancient desert trading people, entered through a long narrow canyon that opens, without warning, on a temple façade cut straight into the rock.
01Why it's worth it
Petra was the capital of the Nabataeans, who grew rich controlling the desert incense and spice routes and, some two thousand years ago, carved an entire city, temples, tombs, a theatre, of monumental façades directly into the coloured sandstone of a hidden valley. The approach is theatre in itself: you walk more than a kilometre through the Siq, a deep, sinuous slot canyon, until it suddenly frames the Treasury, the famous ornate façade glowing pink in the morning sun. But the Treasury is only the beginning; the site is enormous, and the walk deeper in and the long climb up to the even larger Monastery reveal that Petra is a landscape of tombs, high places, and stairways spread across the mountains. It more than survives its fame; it is one of the genuine wonders of the world, and it rewards giving it real time and legs.
02How to experience it
Be at the entrance when it opens to walk the Siq and reach the Treasury before the crowds and in the best light. Then go deep: climb to the Monastery and up to the high viewpoints most day-trippers skip. Two days lets you do it justice; consider the (busy) Petra by Night candlelit walk. Wear proper shoes.