Updated 11 September 2022
Hiking into Petra via the back road from Little Petra to the Monastery
If you have two days (and in my opinion that is the minimum) to visit Petra it is certainly a great idea to enter the second day via the back road. It starts in the Little Petra area and you enter Petra at the Monastery. On the way up you have beautiful views over the Wadi Araba desert. And you can enjoy a cup of tea with the Bedouin lady who you’ll meet on the way up.
Hike the back road on your 2nd Petra day
This morning Abu Fadi came to pick up my guests Louis and Alex and I joined them on their transfer to Little Petra. First we dropped their car at the Petra parking. As a result their car is waiting for them when they come back. No need to climb up the hill when they get out of Petra. Secondly Alex went to buy their ticket from the Visitor’s centre as you do need a ticket when you enter via the back road.
The ride to the start of the back road
And off we went, over the winding road to Little Petra. During the ride Abu Fadi shared some stories about Petra. On the way we saw the Elephant that has been there for ages!
It’s about six kilometers on the paved road. After that the bumpy ride started on the dirt road. There was another short stop as Abu Fadi spotted the first camel! Another oldtimer!
A little further Abu Fadi stopped and stepped out of the car to point the way to the ticket booth at the start of the hike.

And off they went. Ma’as salama! Have a nice hike up to the Monastery!
Looking for a transfer to the start of the back road?
It’s best to park your car at the Petra parking and have a transfer to the start of the hike. When you get out of Petra, your car is waiting for you!
If you like I can get you in touch with a taxi driver to take you there. Just leave a message below and we’ll be in touch.
Updates
In the blog they guests had a drop off by a 4WD at Kharoub al Fedja. After the maintenance in the summer of 2022 the new start of the back road hike is from the parking area in Little Petra (Beidha). Here you can read about the two options to hike the Back Road hike. Happy hiking!