Jordan: Dana to Petra: Day 4: Little Petra (Al Bayḑā) to Petra - (Wādī Mūsá)

Jordan: Dana to Petra: Day 4: Little Petra (Al Bayḑā) to Petra - (Wādī Mūsá)

Visiting Petra via the Back Door Route has multiple benefits!

You skip the crowds by walking the way less popular back door route to the Monastery
You don’t have to walk the same way twice. Coming from a different route rewards you with other views of Petra
You skip the 800 steps you have to conquer when visiting the Monastery from the main entrance
You will be rewarded with amazing views over the surroundings of Petra and Jordan’s nature
You can have the Monastery almost all to yourself! If you arrive in the early morning, no one from the front entrance had the opportunity to already arrive at the Monastery

HOW TO GET TO THE ENTRY POINT OF THE BACK DOOR TRAIL / BACK ENTRANCE?
I would advise you to order a cab from your accommodation to the back entrance entry point. This will save you a lot of hassle of having to find the exact drop-off point (not that clear), but it also allows you to walk back through Petra and exit at the main entrance instead of having to walk back. We paid around 15 euros for the one-way taxi. Not too cheap, but in our opinion fully worth it!

The back entrance is located between the villages Al-Beidha and Uum Sayhoun (near the Seven Wonders Bedouin Camp). This is approximately 10 kilometres from Wadi Musa. From the drop-off point, you will have to walk a short bit on plain sand before arriving at an entry gate and later on a coffee stand from where the signs start. This road is quite easy to follow, as you solely have to follow the big road here. There are some options to bring you already a little bit further to the main trail with a 4×4, but I would advise against that. The part from the main road wasn’t too long (max 30 minutes) and this saves you some money. Double-check the drop-off point with the cab driver beforehand.

It is also possible to start your hike from Little Petra, but the first part of the hike is to be found the most challenging and less clearly marked. So, If your main goal is to see the Monastery while exploring a different route and surrounding views, you can best start from the main entrance.

THE ROUTE TO THE MONASTERY FROM PETRA'S BACK ENTRANCE
The trail to the Monastery is about 5.5 km and takes approximately 1,5 to 2 hours. Generally speaking, the trail is quite easy to hike. There is a bit of ascending and descending, but these parts can be more seen as hills and at most of the places there are stairs to make it a bit easier for you. The trail switches between sandy grounds, rocky areas and stairs.

I would not advise taking a guide, as we thought the hike was quite straightforward. We had way more trouble finding one of the Treasury viewpoints the day before! It is always advisable to download maps.me to have a clear view of the route and to make you feel more comfortable. All viewpoints in the area are also added on maps. me! The route can be found below. If you want to find the starting point, you can use the coordinates: 30.356802, and 35.45289.

BEAUTIFUL VIEWS ON THE MONASTERY
It is a magical moment when you see the Monastery popping up in front of you. It is quite nice to arrive from a different direction than the main public, as this straight away gives you some photo opportunities and the chance to admire this majestic historic sight from a different point of view. After we visited the Monastery, we hiked back to the main entrance to see all the sights in Petra one more time, this time from a different point of view.