Everyone knows that when in Jordan, Petra has to be seen. The ancient city of Nabataeans carved out of rock is listed as one of the 7 new Wonders of the World and is an absolutely breathtaking sight. The city was probably founded around the 3rd century BC, and its heyday took place in the 1st century. Petra was later destroyed by the Crusader invasion and numerous earthquakes.

Currently, in Petra, several routes of various lengths and difficulties have been marked out. The most popular is the so-called Main Trail (about 4 km long one way). The trail starts at the Visitor Center and leads along a gorge known as Al Siq. The road through the gorge is the only road leading to the center of the ancient city and is about 1.2 km long. This is the only part of the trail that can be covered with a baby stroller. Along the walls of the entire Al Siq, gutters for water were carved out, and Adam considered those to be the perfect place for hiking and climbing 🙂 At the end of the gorge, you will see one of the most famous buildings of Petra, i.e. Al Khazna (Treasury). This is the most crowded place in all of Petra, where groups with guides gather and everyone wants to take a picture. No wonder, because the Treasury, carved out of the rock, is simply beautiful. Many people are already finishing their Petra adventure here, which is really a shame, because the further trip is equally interesting. The trail continues along the Street of Facades, along which numerous tombs have been carved into the rocks. Going further, you will pass the huge Roman theater and walk along the Colonnaded Street. Here, Adam was still interested in climbing and peeking into houses carved in rock. At the end of the main trail you can admire the Great Temple and Quas al-Bint (the main and most important temple in ancient Petra). There was a French reality show being filmed on the grounds of the Great Temple, so we were kindly asked to leave, but that’s a small loss, because the temple is mainly a ruin 🙂
Our original plan was to end exactly here. I didn’t want to plan too ambitiously, especially since the heat was quite noticeable that day and after covering these 4 km, the children had enough. Many people continue their trek from here to Ad Deir, the Monastery, which is Petra’s second most famous building. The trail is not long as it is about 1.25 km one way, but it is steep. Despite my and Tomasz’s willingness, we decided not to continue our journey to the Monastery. We took a longer lunch break (we had our own lunch, as we read that the restaurant located here is both expensive and less than good), during which me and Tomasz (taking turns) took an additional walk to the Church, in which you can admire well-preserved floor mosaics.
It is worth noting that throughout our walk through Petra we were constantly harassed by vendors offering donkey, mule or camel rides. Especially seeing our tired children, they did not want to leave us alone and kept asking and making suggestions. And we stubbornly refused. What’s funny, Gabriela, who felt sorry for the animals in the morning, was very eager to go for a ride in the afternoon 🙂

After the break, we managed to bribe the children and decided to go along the Al-Khubtha Trail. This trail starts near the Royal Tombs and leads to the Treasury viewing point. The trail is classified as difficult and is about 3.5 km long round trip. All in all, we could as well go to the Monastery 🙂 Initially, we assumed that maybe we would only visit the Tombs, then that we are going to the end. After seeing the long stairs in front of us, we wanted to give up again, but people on the trail convinced us that it was “not far away”. And somehow we managed to climb up. As a result, the children refused to cover the last 100 meters. I am not surprised, I was already exhausted, and there was still a way back. Luckily you can buy drinks in a beduin tent at the top, so we were happy to take a break overlooking the Theater and the main street of Petra. Fortunately, our hike back went faster than we thought.
We covered about 15-18 km according to various measurements (children did not cover the entire distance). We do not hide that it was hard. Maybe if we were sightseeing in cooler weather, it would be easier. But overall it was just too much for the kids. The first buildings and “caves” were interesting, and then everything was the same 🙂 Despite their great exhaustion, somehow they managed to recover the last of their energy and climbed the rocks at the exit from Al Siq. We are very proud of them that they managed despite everything. We know that there are children who walk such distances without any problems, but most of them get off after a few km 🙂

Practical info:
A one-day ticket to Petra is 50 JOD. We had a Jordan Pass with a one-day ticket included in the price. Children up to 12 years go free. There are small bars / restaurants in Petra and of course lots of souvenir stalls. There are also some decent toilets. However, there are no picnic places where you can eat your own lunch (we were just sitting on the stones). Tables are only at the bars. If someone really wants, you can treat yourself to a ride on a horse (from Visitor Center to As Siq), on a donkey or mule (from the Treasury to the Monastery), or on a camel. We personally advise against this kind of entertainment, especially for healthy adults.

About 10 km north of Petra, in the Siq al-Barid canyon, there is the so-called Little Petra, which was likely a suburb to the main Nabatean city. Visiting Little Petra will not take you more than 1-2 hours and is free. We stopped there on our way to Wadi Musa, the day before visiting Petra. The kids loved it there. We just came on a colder day (it’s a pity that this weather didn’t last for visiting Petra), it was empty and just the perfect amount of rock houses and climbing to keep the interest 🙂
There are toilets and stalls next to the parking lot, where you also can buy souvenirs or drinks.

We spent 2 nights in Wadi Musa, where you start your tour of Petra. We stayed at the La Maison Hotel from which we had a short walk to the Visitors Center. The hotel was decent, the rooms nice and clean and the breakfast was good.
Restaurants where we ate and can recommend:
BAHIA Rooftop & Restaurant – Local food with a view over Wadi Musa.
Rainbow Restaurant – that’s where we bought falafel and shawarma to bring with us into Petra 🙂
Al Wadi Restaurant – delicious local food, friendly service and fresh juices
Al-Janoub sweets – local cakes and desserts 🙂