Day 12:67 Petra, 1-Hour Hike to the Treasury

The main reason people visit Jordan is to see the Petra Treasury Building. In my Art History classes this has always been one of the places of awe I had only seen in pictures. Or as the famous location of a scene in an Indiana Jones movie. But it always felt out of reach for me. One of those places in the world that seemed too far away to ever actually see with my own eyes.

Petra itself is an ancient city carved directly into rose-colored sandstone cliffs by the Nabataeans more than 2,000 years ago. Located along major trade routes between Arabia, Egypt, and the Mediterranean, it became a wealthy crossroads for caravans carrying spices, incense, silk, and other valuable goods. The most famous structure is Al-Khazneh — known today as the Treasury — a stunning 130-foot-tall façade carved into solid rock during the 1st century AD. Despite the name, historians believe it was most likely a royal tomb or ceremonial monument rather than an actual treasury.

Arriving the night before, we stayed at the Mövenpick Petra, a 5-star hotel right across the street from the entrance to Petra. I remember thinking when we arrived — this is great, we are right here! Viking was putting us up in a beautiful resort location that runs around $400 a night and it is literally walking distance to Petra. Life is good.

Earlier in morning we had done a Mosaic tour (more on that later). Now it is just before 3:00 pm and our guide had us all meet at the Petra entrance for our journey inside the ancient city. What I had unknowingly assumed was “Petra” was just that building we have all seen in photos. No… it is not. That famous building is inside the ancient city of Petra — and the city itself is huge. You need several days to really explore everything.

It took us over an hour to walk down the long path toward the Treasury. So if you go — be ready for a hike. And remember… the hike back is longer because it is all uphill!

The photos in this post show some of the features and places we saw along the way. The Nabataeans had an incredible water supply system. There were places where people lived, areas where stores once operated, and structures carved directly into the rock walls throughout the city and along our journey.

By the time you are getting close, you are starting to get tired. At least I was. And by then you have probably asked yourself for the 30th time… “Are we there yet?”

Then our tour guide took us to a special spot and simply said, “Look.”

Through the tall rock walls we suddenly saw it — the Treasury — peeking out toward us, almost welcoming us to another journey back in time.

It took us a bit over an hour to walk from 2025 back more than 2,000 years into history.

Wow.

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