Visit Petra

Visit Petra – A visit to Petra is a must – one of the most magnificent sites the world has to offer.

You can make your time there whatever you want it to be, but however you see it, it stays with you forever.

Your first visit begins with the walk down the Siq, a narrow crack in the valley down towards the city. With walls rising 40m up on either side as you make the half-mile approach to the city, the anticipation builds. What will be around every corner?

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When the Treasury facade emerges into view, the scale of the place hits home once again. The morning sunlight shines down on it, and the mystery of how artisans millennia ago could have crafted something so large and so ornate returns.

It is only an appetiser, however, as you venture beyond and further into the city.

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The Royal Tombs appear to your right, the Amphitheatre to your left. Beyond there are temples, excavation sites, caves at every turn. You can walk beside them, inside them, or up on high to look down on them. But every which way you turn you are struck by beauty and magnificence.

With so much to explore, you need days to visit Petra. But the reward is something very special.

Tours to Jordan

Tours to Jordan – something quite remarkable, just five hours from the UK.

With so many sights to savour it can be hard to know where to begin when planning a trip, but there is an obvious starting point; Petra.

The ‘Red Rose’ city (you’ll have to go for yourself to discover that it’s not really red at all) is in the very middle of Jordan, a sprawling site nestled in the valley which runs like a vein through the country.

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Petra is full of surprises from the moment the sun shines directly on the Treasury in the morning until you walk through the valley in the early evening by candlelight. No visit to Jordan is complete without it.

That said, though Petra is crucial, it is just the start of what you can experience.

As someone who likes to be active on trips, there is nothing I like more than walking in Jordan. The opportunities are endless, and breathtaking.
Take, for example, the Dana Nature Reserve. Once you’ve drunk in the wonderful views from the top of the valley, the only thing to do is head down to the bottom! A five-hour walk through some wonderful flora later, and you reach Feynan – and the views are just as spectacular.

Or around Wadi Mujib, where the dramatic valley scenery would be spectacular enough in its own right, with its mix of rocks and springs, even without the shimmering waters of the Dead Sea appearing on the horizon.

And of course, if the walking does wear you out, then the spa hotels of the Dead Sea serve as the perfect relaxing treat afterwards…

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But a tour to Jordan should be something you experience your way – which is why all I ever do is make suggestions, and talk it over with you before putting together a personalised, individual itinerary for you and whoever you want to travel with.

 

Visit Petra

Visit Petra – A visit to Jordan is defined by a visit to Petra. The rest of the country has some inspiring sights to see and experiences to enjoy, but Petra is a little bit special!

Every time I visit it inspires me and perplexes me. Petra is an ancient city whose artisans sculpted enormously ornate tombs directly on to the purple rocks.

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The feat would have been impressive enough had it been done last week – but these are the works of men living more than 2,000 years ago.

Petra is a place which captures you immediately, yet rewards you for the time you give it.

You only truly appreciate how sprawling the city is by getting there and exploring it on foot.

I get asked plenty of times how long one needs to see it – the truth of the matter is that you could walk a week there and still be covering new grounds, unearthing new areas.

In practical terms, most of us are not lucky enough to have that long to explore the city, but a couple of days is a minimum. We like to arrange a guide to walk with you for the first few hours – to give you your bearings, and set the stage for that breathtaking walk through the narrow cracks of the Siq and towards that first glimpse of the Treasury.

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Photos rarely do it the justice it deserves, but Petra is something a little special – and it’s only a five-hour flight away from us in the UK.

Petra Jordan holiday

Petra Jordan Holiday- There is no place in Jordan, or indeed the Middle East, that I find more magical than Petra.

An ancient city set in the cocoon of rich red rocks, with remarkable tomb facades hewn high into the wall faces. A wondrous feat of artisanship set against a dramatic natural background – what more could one ask for?

Petra Jordan holiday with africanexplorations.com - Petra

So it’s no surprise then that if you’re looking for a holiday to Jordan, that Petra is either the reason you began to consider it, or a cornerstone of your visit.

And of course, it has to be seen properly.

I’ve been at the site, which is a sprawling mass of treasures set across several miles, and seen busloads of tourists whisked in and out in three hours – a few pictures better off, perhaps, but with no sense of the place they have travelled all the way to see.

You have to give Petra time to unearth its secrets.

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Two full days to explore it are a minimum – walking, exploring, dallying, breathing it all in. The Treasury, the most iconic of landmarks within the site, is about a mile’s walk from the site entrance, and that is only really the start of the surprises.

The walk up to the Monastery is a half day’s journey – so is the trek up to the High Place of the Tunnel Siq. Then there’s the journey along the Tunnel Siq, or around the mountains to sneak an unforgettable view of the Treasury from on high. That’s just a flavour of what there is to see – the more time you give Petra, the more you get out of it.

But a Jordan holiday featuring Petra is about more than just the Nabatean city alone. There are other remarkable places to visit, great walks to take if that’s how you enjoy exploring.

And, of course, at the end of your time in Petra the possibility of a few days of relaxation, be it on Jordan’s coral-filled Red Sea coastline or by the Dead Sea, home to salts, muds and minerals to revitalise you before you return home.


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