Private Petra Back Entrance Tour with Guide .

Petra’s back entrance gives you the day’s biggest reward at the start: the Monastery with far fewer people around it. You begin near Little Petra, take a 4×4 to the foot of the Monastery steps, and approach one of Jordan’s great sights from the hills rather than through the famous canyon.

I like the quiet route and the private format. Guide Bassil is praised for his long experience at Petra, patient answers, useful advice, and excellent photos. The catch is physical: this is roughly a 10-kilometer walk, with an uphill climb to the Monastery and about 850 steps downhill afterward.

Key points to know before booking

• The Monastery comes first: Reach Al Dayr by the back route, before walking down toward Petra’s central monuments.
• Little Petra is part of the approach: You have about 15 minutes to see its main features before the 4×4 transfer.
• The route ends at the Treasury: You can explore on your own afterward or walk about 40 minutes through the canyon to the Visitor Centre.
• Bassil leads the tour: He is an English-speaking Petra guide with more than 18 years of guiding experience.
• The tour is private: Only your own party takes part, allowing a flexible pace and time for questions and photographs.
• The $140 price excludes Petra admission: Add the separate site entry fee to your budget, along with optional hotel drop-off.

Why the back entrance changes your Petra day

Most first visits to Petra are built around the Siq, the narrow canyon that leads to the Treasury. That route has real drama, but it also puts the most famous facade at the beginning. This tour reverses the order.

You start at the rear of the site, near Little Petra, and work your way toward the Treasury. The payoff is a long approach through Petra’s high country, followed by a steady descent through the ancient city. It feels more like a journey through the site than a quick walk to its postcard view.

The private setup matters here. Petra is not a place where every stop is easy to understand at a glance. A guide can explain what you are looking at, point out structures you might walk past, and adjust the rhythm when you need a pause. Bassil’s role is especially useful for first-time visitors who want context without being tied to a large group.

You should still be realistic about the route. The back entrance avoids much of the busy approach, but it does not make Petra easy. You climb to the Monastery, then descend 850 steps to the Colonnaded Street, and continue across uneven ground for around 10 kilometers. Bring the right attitude, sturdy footwear, water, and sun protection.

7:00 am pickup and the ride to Little Petra

The morning begins with hotel pickup in Wadi Musa at about 7:00 am. An early start is sensible. It gives you cooler conditions for the first climb and places you at the Monastery before the middle of the day, when the sun can make the exposed trail harder.

The tour first stops at the Petra Visitor Centre so the required arrangements can be handled, then continues by vehicle toward Little Petra. A free shuttle operated in the Petra area takes you onward, followed by a 4×4 ride to the bottom of the Monastery stairs. The 4×4 ride is included.

Little Petra receives only a short visit, around 15 minutes. Think of it as an introduction rather than a full tour. You have time to see the main carved spaces and get a feel for the Nabataean setting, but the main focus remains the route to Al Dayr.

One cost detail deserves attention before you book. The tour price is listed as $140 per person, but Petra’s entry ticket is not included. The itinerary describes admission as included at individual stops, while the inclusions clearly exclude the Petra entry ticket. Treat the site admission as an additional expense and confirm the current fee when booking.

The climb to Al Dayr, Petra’s Monastery

The 4×4 leaves you at the base of the Monastery stairs. From there, you climb toward Al Dayr, one of Petra’s largest and most striking carved monuments. The route is quieter than the standard walk from the Visitor Centre, and the high position opens broad views over the surrounding mountains.

The Monastery is not a small stop. The first part of the tour allows about three hours for the ride, approach, climb, and exploration. That generous block gives Bassil time to explain the site and gives you time to stop for breath, photographs, and views without turning the whole climb into a race.

The building itself is a huge sandstone facade with a simpler, heavier appearance than the Treasury. Its scale is hard to judge from photographs. You may find that the surrounding rock and open space make the Monastery feel even more powerful than the facade alone.

The back route is not a secret shortcut that removes all effort. It replaces one long approach with a mountain climb and a later descent. That trade is worthwhile if you want fewer crowds and a different view of Petra, but it may be too demanding for anyone with limited mobility or low tolerance for heat.

Service animals are allowed, and the activity calls for moderate physical fitness. No special level of hiking ability is stated, so you should judge yourself by the distance, steps, heat, and uneven terrain rather than by the word moderate alone.

The 850-step descent to the Colonnaded Street

After seeing the Monastery, you walk downhill toward the ancient centre of Petra. The route includes about 850 steps, and the tour allows roughly an hour for this section. Downhill does not always mean easy. Stone steps can be uneven, and your knees may notice the steady drop.

The descent leads to the Colonnaded Street, once a major urban thoroughfare. This part of Petra helps you see that the city was more than a collection of isolated facades. The road, columns, market area, and nearby structures show a planned centre where people gathered, traded, and moved through the city.

Qaser Al-Bint is also included among the main sights covered during the day. It is one of the important freestanding temple structures in Petra, and it gives you a useful counterpoint to the tomb facades carved into the cliffs. With a private guide, you can ask questions as the route moves from monumental tombs to civic and religious buildings.

The schedule gives one hour to the Colonnaded Street, but the exact pace can shift. That flexibility is one of the better reasons to choose a private tour. If you want more explanation, you can slow down. If the heat is building, you can keep moving and save energy for the Royal Tombs and Treasury.

Royal Tombs and the Theater viewpoint

From the Colonnaded Street, the route joins Petra’s main trail and heads toward the Royal Tombs. You will see the tomb facades from above and look toward the Theater from the front mountain. This section lasts about 30 minutes, so it is more of a scenic and interpretive stop than a long exploration.

The Royal Tombs are among Petra’s most memorable cliff carvings because of their size, color, and position along the valley. The elevated view helps you understand how the facades relate to one another and to the main route below. It also gives you a different photographic angle from the close-up views available on the valley floor.

The Theater view adds another layer. Petra’s Theater was carved into the rock and sits within the larger urban setting. From above, you can better see its relationship to the Street of Facades and the surrounding cliffs.

This is where a guide earns his keep. Petra can blur into a sequence of dramatic walls if you do not know what you are seeing. Bassil is described as patient with questions and skilled at explaining Petra’s past, local culture, and the places along the route. That is useful when you want more than a series of photographs.

Street of Facades and the final approach

The Street of Facades brings you closer to the famous carved tombs along the canyon walls. The facades vary in size and condition, and the tight setting makes this part feel more intimate than the open space around the Monastery.

You will also pass views toward several of Petra’s best-known features before reaching the Treasury. The tour is designed so the day builds toward that final monument instead of revealing it in the first few minutes.

By this point, you may be tired. The route has covered the mountain approach, the Monastery, a long stair descent, the central city, tombs, and the Theater viewpoint. That makes the Treasury arrival especially satisfying, but it also means you should save some energy for the last stretch.

The main trail can have more activity than the back entrance, particularly near the Treasury. A private guide can help you choose where to pause and can take photographs from useful angles. Bassil is repeatedly praised for taking good pictures, a small but valuable service when you are traveling as a couple or group and want more than one person absent from every image.

Reaching the Treasury at the end

The tour finishes in front of the Treasury after about 10 kilometers of walking. Unlike the standard entrance, where the Treasury appears almost immediately after the Siq, this version saves it for the final act.

The Treasury is Petra’s most recognizable facade, with a detailed upper section and a warm sandstone face that changes with the light. You have about 45 minutes here, though the remaining time can be used for sightseeing and personal exploration.

The end point gives you a practical choice. You can stay near the Treasury and explore at your own pace, or take the roughly 40-minute walk back through the Siq to the Visitor Centre. The tour does not include hotel drop-off. If you need a ride after returning, the stated cost is about 5 to 10 JOD per car.

That ending makes this tour a good fit for people who want a guided route but still value independent time. Your guide gets you across the major sights, then you can decide how long to linger around the Treasury and canyon.

What the $140 price is really buying

At $140 per person, this is not the cheapest way to see Petra. The separate entry ticket raises the total, and hotel drop-off costs extra. Group discounts are offered, so the value improves if several people share the private experience.

You are paying for more than transport. The price includes hotel pickup, an English-speaking guide, the 4×4 ride to the Monastery stairs, and a private route that connects the rear entrance with the Treasury. You also avoid arranging the complicated sequence of Visitor Centre procedures, Little Petra transport, and the 4×4 transfer on your own.

I see the strongest value in the guide and the route. If you would otherwise hire a guide separately, arrange transport, or spend time working out how to reach the back entrance, the package becomes easier to justify. If you are happy with a self-guided walk and want only the standard entrance, another option may cost less.

The private format is particularly useful for couples, families, and small groups with different walking speeds. It also gives you room to ask about Petra’s buildings, Jordanian culture, and the practical details of the trail. Large groups often force everyone to follow one pace. That is not a problem here.

Practical advice for the 5 to 7 hour walk

Start with proper shoes. The route includes stairs, mountain paths, and uneven surfaces, so sandals or smooth-soled shoes are poor choices. Carry water and protect yourself from the sun, since several sections are exposed.

Plan for five to seven hours, not a tightly timed half-day. The formal stop times add up to several hours, but transport, pauses, photographs, and personal exploration fill out the day. The tour begins at 7:00 am, and the early start is one of its practical strengths.

You should also plan your clothing around the weather. The tour requires good conditions and may be moved or canceled if weather makes the route unsafe. If that happens, you can accept another date or receive a full refund under the stated policy.

The tour is private, but it is not a private vehicle all the way to the Monastery. The approach includes the Petra Authority shuttle and an included 4×4 ride. That is normal for this back route, but it helps to know that the day combines vehicle transfers with substantial walking.

Hotel pickup is offered in the Wadi Musa area. The listed start point is 8FF9+X72 in Wadi Musa, and the finish is at the Treasury. Public transportation is nearby, though hotel pickup is the simpler choice.

Who should choose this Petra tour?

I would choose this tour if you want a quieter approach to the Monastery, prefer a private guide, and are comfortable walking for most of a day. It suits first-time visitors who want the major sights explained rather than simply photographed.

It is also a strong option for repeat visitors who have already seen Petra through the Siq and want a different route. The back entrance, Little Petra stop, mountain views, and delayed Treasury reveal give the day a different shape.

You should think twice if your main goal is a short visit to the Treasury, if stairs are difficult for you, or if you do not want to pay separately for site admission. This is not a gentle sightseeing loop. It is a long walking day with a demanding first section and a substantial downhill stretch.

The experience is recommended by all 16 ratings provided, with a five-star average. The most consistent strengths are Bassil’s explanations, patience, safety-minded approach, photo help, and ability to show less-used viewpoints. Those are meaningful advantages, but they do not remove the need to prepare for the physical demands.

Should you book the private back entrance?

Book it if the Monastery is high on your Petra wish list and you like the idea of reaching it by a quieter, more scenic route. The private format, experienced guide Bassil, included 4×4 transfer, and final arrival at the Treasury make this a well-shaped full-day visit.

Skip it if you need an easy route, want to keep costs as low as possible, or prefer to enter through the Siq and see the Treasury first. For fit visitors who want more space, more explanation, and a less usual way through Petra, this tour makes a strong case. Just budget for the Petra entry ticket, prepare for the 10-kilometer walk, and treat the 7:00 am start as part of the plan rather than an inconvenience.

FAQ

What time does the tour start?

The tour starts at 7:00 am.

Is hotel pickup included?

Yes. Hotel pickup is included.

Is hotel drop-off included?

No. Hotel drop-off is not included. The stated cost is about 5 to 10 JOD per car.

Is the Petra entry ticket included?

No. The Petra entry ticket is listed as not included, so you should budget for it separately.

How long does the tour last?

The tour lasts approximately five to seven hours.

How much walking is involved?

The route covers about 10 kilometers. It includes a climb to the Monastery and a downhill section of about 850 steps to the Colonnaded Street.

Where does the tour end?

The tour ends in front of the Treasury. From there, you can explore independently or walk about 40 minutes through the canyon to the Visitor Centre.

Is this a private tour?

Yes. Only your own group takes part in the activity.