Page Type:
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Route |
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Lat/Lon:
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30.30331°N / 35.45366°E |
Route Type:
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Hiking |
Season:
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Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter |
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Time Required:
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Less than two hours |
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Difficulty:
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Easy scramble |
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Overview
There's not much to be said about this route. Basically, it's the only route I can even think of to reach the summit of Jebel Attuf. The characteristics of the terrain (desertic and archaelogical) give me no option but to say that you shouldn't even dream of trying something else. As far as I know, in fact, any other possibility might be forbidden.
Any good news? Yes! It's not a long way up to the summit, along a narrow rocky gorge that offers shelter from the worst of the desert sun and makes it possible to escape from the crowds in the lower parts of the Petra site, giving you a more "personal" experience during your visit of the Nabathean pink city.
Getting There
The nearest international airport is placed at Amman, over 250 km north of Wadi Musa. The wisest choice could to be joining a tourist group towards Wadi Musa and Petra, that way you save some time and effort while organizing the trip and might be a good chance to discover some other tourist spots in Jordan (say mount Nebo or the castle of Kerak, for instance). Hiring a taxi or using acar rental company seem to be the basic possibilities to reach the place ifyou’d rather travel on your own. I’m not aware of any other possibilities, but will be glad to include here any additional information provided by readers ofthis page.
Route Description
Starting point of the path
About halfway between the Treasure and the Theater (always on your left hand side) you will find a staircase. That's the one, all you have to do is take it, start climbing and enter the narrow gorge leading upwards. The first section goes up, then comes into the gorge (where you will be grateful for the shelter from the usually blazing sun) and along it with short up and down sections. After that, an additional climb will make you turn right past several cloth shelters of local beduins to reach the col where the nabathean obelisks (supposed to be signs of fertility) are placed.
The final climb could also be the tricky one. Up to this point, it's only been a matter of staircase climbing. But you need to leave the col northwards (to your right), do a short scrambling step to overcome a rather smooth rock and follow then the path up the scree slope, to reach the remaining walls of the ancient Crusade castle and -just behind them- the High Place of the Sacrifices at the summit. All the main area of the Petra site will then be at your feet.