Back Door hiking route to the Monastery

I recommend doing this trek from the monastery and put to little Petra, going in early in the morning through the main entrance to Petra at 6am when they open and then straight to the monastery to be there almost alone. Have a cup of tea and enjoy the fantastic building, and then continue towards little Petra - a2.5 hour walk where the first 1.5 hours are absolutely stunning.
When you get to little Petra you can pay a Bedouin to take you, usually costs 20-25JD

If you want to take the back end route to Petra, you will have to take a transport (not your own car) to Little Petra, from where a shuttle takes you to the drop off point at which you start to hike to the Monastery. Absolutely recommended.

One of the best routes in the WORLD..

Honestly, this path is the best way to enjoy Petra the most, you should definitely buy the tickets -or use a Jordan pass-.

It is around 14 km from here till the otherside of Petra, you can see everything beside the amazing stairs in the mountains.

The hike is moderate and you can finish it as fast as 2 hrs, but keep in mind to have at least 2 liters of water per person

Backdoor entry is the best way to get to the monastery, in my opinion. We went to Little Petra around 1.30pm. Everyone said it's too hot , don't do it. It was 35 Celcius, but it didn't bother at all because the air is dry. Hot temperatures with humidity are unbearable, but dry air is fine. We had 3.5 lt of water with us. We wore long loose trousers and uv protected light hoodies.
We waited for the 4x4 to fill up, but after 20 mins, the driver decided to move. There were 6 guys (heros) who decided to walk all the way. And they did. The path between Little Petra and the backdoor is very uninteresting, so we are glad we didn't walk that part.
When we arrived at the back door, we were offered donkey rides, but we opted for the hike. Still, the hot air didn't bother us. We didn't even sweat. Didn't get tired at all.
The path is beautiful and interesting. Still lots of steps (400 we were told) but pretty easy. We have seen people coming from the opposite direction, and they were really tired. I read in other comments that with a steady walk, one can reach to the monastery in 45 mins. I think it's possible. It took us 1 hour 20 mins because we took lots of photos along the way, which slowed us down.
The path is very easy to follow. You cannot lose your way.
Overall, we spent 6 hours from the backdoor to the visitor center. We exited the site at 8pm. We had the whole site to ourselves almost. We have photos with no other people in them.
It's amazing. It's fun. Must do. Backdoor is the best way to get through Petra in a single direction.

If you find about this path, definitely use it to get to the Monastery as the first people. First, get your ticket at the visitors center, then take a taxi (7-35 JD) to the back entrance and enjoy this beautiful way. You can go start at 6 am and it takes you from 1-2 hours to reach the Monastery.

I recommend this path for all the people, for those who have only one day in Petra - this is the best how to save your time to see everything. Even for those who spent more days in Petra as you see different panoramas during your way up.

A hike that shows you Jordans tectonics plates! It's absolutely beautiful and mesmerizing!.
We hiked to the monastery, and stoped every 10 minutes or less because of the views.
If you only have one day in Petra take the free shuttle bus that leaves from inside the visitor center ( many taxis will tell you there is no shuttle). We were told that the free shuttle leave every 20-30 min from 7am-2 pm ( They do not wait til they are full). The free shuttle will leave take you to little Petra and then you can start your hike to the Monastery ( about 3hr depending on speed). If you want to save energy buy the tickets(5 JOD per person as of March 27/2023) at the little Petra entrance for a jeep ride ( about 20min). The jeep will save you time and energy,but you can also walk and enjoy the landscape.
The jeep will drop you off at a base where you'll start hiking uphill ( not too hard of a hike). Took us about 2 hrs to reach the monastery BUT that's because we were going super slow and taking pictures a long the way.

We started our visit from Little Petra, then we took the 5 JD jeep to the hiking route to the Monastery.
For us, this was a great way to visit Petra. We were alone the whole way, the views were awesome and we managed to see the Monastery without any people in site

So glad we found this hiking route, its 100% worth it! The trail was very easy, took us a little under 1 hour to make it to the Monastery, it's mostly going downhill and the view is great!

There is only one path so don't worry about getting lost, we didn't see any signage along the way and it was totally fine.

Why visit Petra through the backdoor:
1. Once you are inside Petra, you will be going downhill, instead of doing the 900 steps up to the Monastery!
2. The main route to see Petra is a circular one, meaning you would be going out the same way you came in. By entering through the backdoor, you could see Petra in a straight path, effectively saving you ~2hrs.

How to get to the backdoor:
1. Take a free shuttle to Little Petra. The shuttle bus starts at 7:30am and the bus station is around the toilet inside the Petra Visitor Center. The bus ride takes about 15 minutes. Little Petra is free to visit.
2. Once at Little Petra, you'll see a very obvious yellow ticketing booth on the left hand side of the entrance of Little Petra. Ask for a jeep ticket to the backdoor of Petra, it costs 5JD per person. The jeep ride takes about 15 minutes.
3. Once reaching the backdoor, ask your driver to give you a general direction as to where to go, there is a souvenir shop with a Jordanian flag (photos attached) that is where the trail starts.

There were some stalls selling coffee and tea along the way but maybe because we were there early, none of them were open.

I think it might be possible to enter through the main entrance and exit through the back door, but while we were at the back door we didnt see any shuttles or taxi there (our jeep left immediately after dropping us off), so unless you are ready to walk another 3 hours back to Little Petra after a long day in Petra, it might not be the best of ideas.

An absolutely beautiful route, even for beginners. You can get dropped by the shuttle bus at Little Petra, take a look around then take this route back to the Monastery to start the backdoor trail, which is the Monastery and Main trails but from the opposite end. You can take the jeep for 5 JD, but I'd recommend walking if you have an extra hour or two. Don't follow the Google Maps route, just stick to the designated trail. Usually there is a park ranger on the way who can guide you as well.

Our guide dropped us off at the guard shack and pointed us in the direction of the actual trail. Warning: this trail is not easy. There are hundreds of steps, mostly up. The trail is difficult to follow in a couple of places and is dangerous in one spot. You will likely be completely alone on this trail, and I can't imagine tourists taking this trail in reverse, so the only people you meet will be one or two people trying to sell you things. (About a third of the way there is a place to purchase drinks.) We were a bit slow and it took us a couple hours to get to the Monastery. Don't get caught in the dark.
Having said all that, we absolutely loved this trail. The solitude, the scenery, the spectacular rock formations...all made it an unforgettable experience. Also, I think it is a shorter and easier route to the Monastery, and from there it is a one way downhill walk to the rest of Petra. If we return to Petra we will take this trail again.

After a full day of hiking the day before, we followed the advice from our hotel (Esperanza Petra) and took the free shuttle to Little Petra (and then paid for the 4x4 shuttle) so that we could walk down the 800+ stairs to the Monastery instead of up them. There is still a decent amount of steep uphill when coming from the back door hiking route, so be prepared. We're very glad that we took this route. Definitely recommend

After taking a free bus at Petra Visitor Center, we got off at Little Petra. From there, there is a 5 JOD jeep tour to a point where you can have a hike until the monastery. It was a bit difficult for us, we didn't know that we have to go up a lot. Go early in the morning to avoid the sun! You can ride on a donkey here but please don't...

The very best way to experience Petra. We’ve done Petra a few times now but this was our first time via the back way. I mostly appreciated not having to walk up all those stairs to the Monastery just to come back down again. It was also beautiful weather and spectacular views. Would recommend 9/10.

I highly recommend to take this route as you will reach the Monastery quicker than the main trail ( Approx 1h/ 1h15 ) so if you go early ( we started the trail around 8:30AM ) you’ll be probably one of the first to reach the Monastery and take some nice pictures almost alone.

What you can do is go the Visitor Center park your car there, then ask a local to drive you at the entrance of the back door ( we paid 20JD at our hotel ) and then from the Monastery you can take the way down to the visitor Center and see all the beautiful monuments. Enjoy!

the top track in Petra, I have enjoyed very much. Hills are little bit steep but they are not many, mostly you go downstairs, Views are spectacular. I never forget beautiful nature over there

Please take this route you won’t regret it! Of you buy a jordan pass petra is for free for 1 day and many more highlights are incl the Jordan pass. I recommend you to take the backroad because then you don’t need to walk all the 850 steps up but you walk them down. Also with the backroad you get to see things you won’t see if you don’t take this road. We payed 70 dinar to take a guide with us and to go with a 4x4 car till the point we need to walk and with a guide. The guide walked with is till the theatre and believe me that’s enough he tells you a lot of things and the rest after the theater you can easily walk by yourself. The guides might say higher prices to you but don’t pay that and also if they try to scare you for the backroad don’t listen!!! First our guided told us that the backroad is dangerous and we shouldn’t take it blabla… and then when we say oke then we walk the backroad alone he say I go with you and when we payed him he told us this is one of the best roads you can walk, nobody come’s here etc… so please just take the backroad and go really early. We went there at 06;00 o clock in the morning then the ticket office if open and the sun is not so warm at that time. Good luck!!’

It’s a medium level hike but even in cold weather it can be very warm if you’re wearing jackets! But it’s the best way to see all of Petra in one day as you reach the back entrance with the Ad-Deir monastery and then you can walk towards Al-Sif thereby covering all of Petra. It’s a ~10km walk so be prepared!

Amazing hike from little Petra to Ad-Beir. You can do it without a guide if you follow this route (on maps.me). You need to bring entry ticket to Petra as there is a checkpoint at the end. And bring water! No shops!

We got our tickets and took a taxi to get to the start of the path. What a mesmerizing hike through a surreal landscape. Big bonus: You arrive right at the monastery and can avoid the masses

Best decision ever taking this back route. We had more time to enjoy Petra than running forth and back. 👍😉