Petra Treasury trail

There is a well-known viewpoint in Petra that rewards you with an amazing view of the Treasury from above. To get to the viewpoint, you must undertake the Al-Khutbah trail, which is a moderate hike for a round trip of around 1.5hrs. The start of the trail is near the Palace Tomb. It was a cloudy start this morning, but nice and warm.

You start up some wide steps that wind-up and cuts into a large valley. Along the way we would pass small tents selling water, tea and some souvenirs. The higher we went, the more windy it became. I had to hold onto my hat at some points.

At the end of the steps, you reach a plateau where you are treated to some fantastic 360 views. Around you are the mountains and the vast dramatic desert landscape. Below you can see the main Petra street, the street of facades, below. The impressive Petra Theatre carved out of rock can be seen very prominently.

The valley in which Petra resides is known as Wadi Musa, meaning Valley of Moses.

From the Plateau area we started to descend slightly into a more greener part of the trail. The pathway was dusty and rocky. I made a bad choice of wearing my nike sneakers on this trip and had no grip. The sun was now out and shining down on us.

There were other tourists on the trail too, but it was fairly quiet. We now came to another point where we were ascending into some rocky formation. I could sense we were close to the viewing point...

Sure enough, we came to the open rock ledge where you could peak down and see the mighty Treasury to the far left. It was an awesome site to see so high up.

The wind was blowing so hard I had to be careful not to stand at the edge of the cliff. I chose to sit down at the edge to admire the view and take some photos.

There was another viewpoint directly in front of the Treasury. A small cafe selling tea and snacks was perched up on the viewpoint. It was nice to go in, sit down and have some tea and admire the view of the treasury. This is a popular place to get that Instagram shot of yourself 😉

The cafe was owned by a Bedouin family, and had a secret viewpoint on a small ledge just below the shop. They invited us to go down and take some photos. The view was unbelievable, giving you direct access to the Treasury from above. Don't forget to pack you telephoto lense if you want to get some really cool close shots of the Treasury. This is the perfect place to get some unique shots.

The hike is worth the time to see the amazing surrounding landscapes and to get a unique view of the Treasury from above. It is not a difficult trail and can easily be done at a slow pace. I recommend taking the trail in the morning to avoid the afternoon heat. Don't forget to pack water and snacks!