Distance: 8 km round trip

Time: 3 to 4 hours

Difficulty: easy to moderate

What you see: Visitor Center, the Siq, the Treasury, the Street of Facades, the Theatre, the Royal Tombs area, the Colonnaded Street, the Great Temple, the Temple of the Winged Lions area, and Qasr al Bint

Why it matters: this is Petra’s central axis, the route that reveals how the city expands from a narrow geological corridor into a monumental civic landscape. It gives the clearest reading of Petra’s shift from carved space to constructed architecture

Distance: 3.5 km round trip

Time: 1.5 to 2.5 hours

Difficulty: Moderate

What you see: the Theatre as you leave the Main Trail, the Royal Tombs up close, carved stairways, upper terraces, elevated views, and the quiet tea house viewpoint above the Treasury

Why it matters: This is the higher, quieter, more architectural ascent with a controlled reveal. It shows how the Nabataeans carved circulation into the cliffs and placed viewpoints along geological breaks. It offers breathtaking, classic views down onto the Treasury from above

Distance: 4 km loop

Time: 2.5 to 3.5 hours

Difficulty: Hard

What you see: ceremonial stairways, carved altars, panoramic views, hidden wadis, the Garden Temple, and the Lion Monument

Why it matters: It reveals Petra’s ritual topography and use of mountain ridges for ceremonial routes.

Distance: 5 km round trip

Time: 2 to 3 hours

Difficulty: Moderate (900 Steps)

What you see: stairways carved into the mountain, Bedouin stalls, and the monumental Monastery dominating the plateau

Why it matters: the ascent reveals Petra’s subtractive engineering and the Monastery’s mastery of mass, shadow, and carved volume