Hiking the Al-Khubtha Trail to the Best Viewpoint of Petra

This guide shows you what it is like to hike the Al-Khubtha Trail, one of Petra’s finest routes leading to a mountaintop viewpoint with superb views of the Treasury from above.

A day of hiking in Petra

As I wrote in my Petra guide, you need at least two days to do justice to this fantastic archaeological site.

This is especially true if you plan to do some hiking in Petra, as there are spectacular trails leading to remote ruins and superb viewpoints over the stunning landscape.

On my first day in Petra, I had visited the most important rock-hewn tombs, temples, and other structures in the main part of the archaeological site, and had made the superb hike to Ad-Dayr (the Monastery).

Now, on my second day in Petra, I planned to make two more hikes, starting with the Al-Khubtha Trail in the early morning.

To my surprise, the weather had changed dramatically overnight.

While the previous day had been pleasant with clear blue skies, this morning in mid-March the skies were rather dark, and raindrops had even begun to fall.

Undaunted, I walked from my lodging in Wadi Musa to the entrance gate of Petra, where I was among the first visitors of the day to enter the site.

Across the Siq

Just as on the previous day, I had to walk through the Siq, the two-kilometre-long narrow gorge to reach the heart of Petra.

Although the Siq remains one of my favourite parts of Petra, its deep red rock walls are sadly less striking on an overcast day like this, as you need the reflected sunlight for the vibrant colours to emerge.

While I traversed the Siq, the drizzle even turned into hail and sleet.

It felt rather surreal to walk towards Petra as hailstones and snowflakes fell down the red rock walls of the gorge, although such weather is not entirely uncommon if you visit in winter.

After a while, I reached the end of the Siq, and the Treasury once again came into view as I made the final turn out of the gorge.

I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: no matter how many times you make this walk, the sight is every bit as impressive as it was the first time.

Warming up at the Treasury

As the weather seemed to be turning worse rather than improving, I decided to take a break at one of the souvenir stalls next to the Treasury.

Given that it was fully covered and also sold hot drinks such as tea and coffee, it was the perfect place to warm up.

Besides, it’s not often that you can admire the Treasury without a single person standing in your view.

Heading towards the Al-Khubtha trailhead

After a while, the worst of the hail and sleet seemed to have passed.

As a few small blue patches of sky began to appear through the cloud cover, I decided to press on with my plan to hike the Al-Khubtha Trail.

To do so, I first needed to reach the starting point of the trail a bit deeper inside Petra.

The Al-Khubtha Trail begins at the Royal Tombs, and to reach it I once again had to walk past some of Petra’s main sights, including the rock-cut tombs along the Street of Façades and the theatre.

For historic background information on all these sights, be sure to read my main Petra guide if you haven’t already.

Hiking the Al-Khubtha Trail

Once you have climbed the steps from the Street of Façades to the Royal Tombs, head towards the Palace Tomb, the northernmost of these spectacular rock-cut structures.

Just north of the Palace Tomb, the Al-Khubtha Trail begins, marked by a signpost directing you to the series of steps that form the trail’s start.

Apart from this single sign, the Al-Khubtha Trail is not well marked, though you can’t really go the wrong way once you’ve found the starting point, as it is essentially a one-way path up the mountain.

The path up the mountain is essentially a long series of steps that is easy to follow, but once you reach the plateau, the trail can sometimes be a little harder to recognise.

I would therefore recommend using a good online map and use GPS on your phone to track your progress along the route.

As I’ve mentioned before in an article about the travel apps I always use, I much prefer Mapy over apps like Google Maps when hiking, as trails and paths are displayed much more clearly.

This is also true for the Al-Khubtha Trail, which is clearly marked on Mapy.

The Al-Khubtha Trail ends at a coffee house atop the cliffs overlooking the Treasury, so be sure to follow the striped path on the map that leads to this point.

The hike from the Royal Tombs to the viewpoint at the end of the Al-Khubtha Trail and back typically takes between 2 and 3 hours, depending on your fitness level and how long you stop to enjoy the views.

Make sure to wear sturdy shoes and bring some water, along with a sweater and jacket in winter to stay warm in bad weather, or sunscreen and a hat in summer.

Needless to say, the Al-Khubtha Trail involves significant uphill hiking and climbing many steps, so it is not recommended for those with reduced mobility or for anyone with young children in tow.

Hiking up the steps

The start of the Al-Khubtha Trail takes you up a seemingly endless series of steps carved out of the rocks.

It’s certainly an exhausting stretch to hike, although the rewards are well worth it.

Although the best viewpoints are towards the end of the Al-Khubtha Trail, you are already treated to sweeping views over Petra’s wild landscape during these first few moments of hiking.

To my surprise, I saw a dog overlooking the trail from a platform beside the rock-hewn steps near the top of the mountain, sitting there like a Sphinx-like figure.

It made for a good spot for my first break during the climb to pet the dog and admire the fine views over the beautiful Petra scenery.

First viewpoint

After a while, I reached the end of the extremely long series of steps up the mountain.

It’s here that you come across the first viewpoint over Petra, which offers great views down the cliff over the Street of Façades and the ancient theatre.

Hiking to the second viewpoint

Once you reach the end of the series of steps, the hike on the Al-Khubtha Trail becomes a lot easier.

From this point, you are basically on a mountain plateau, and most of the hike will be on flat terrain, or with gentle uphill and downhill stretches alternating.

At times it can be a bit unclear which way to go, as the trail here is not always easily visible and parts of the terrain are rather uneven due to the many boulders.

It’s therefore wise to check your progress on an online map with GPS enabled to ensure you are still heading in roughly the right direction, although I managed to follow the rest of the trail without needing to check my smartphone.

As you walk along the plateau section of the trail, be sure to look out for a couple of cave houses along the way.

After a while, I reached the end of the Al-Khubtha Trail, a rudimentarily-built coffee shop overlooking the Treasury from above.

Views over the Treasury

The viewpoint at the end of the Al-Khubtha Trail offers breathtaking views of the Treasury from above and is perhaps the most scenic lookout point in all of Petra.

From here, you gain an entirely different perspective of Petra’s unique geography, seeing the narrow canyon and the massive rock formation from which the Treasury is carved from high above.

However, as there are no railings, you need to be careful not to step too close to the edge of the cliffs when admiring the view or making pictures!

Desert cats

What was perhaps even more delightful than the view over the Treasury were two small desert cats playfully running around the high mountain plateau near the coffee shop.

The first cat seemed to appear out of nowhere, and as I was petting it, a second cat suddenly showed up.

I would estimate that both were still kittens, around eight months old.

Although my jeans ended up covered in red desert sand paw prints, spending time with these two sweet kittens made for some lovely moments.

If anyone reading this makes the hike to the viewpoint at the end of the Al-Khubtha Trail, please let me know in the comments if you spot them, as I hope these sweet kittens have since grown into healthy adult cats!

Hiking down

It was a little hard to leave the sweet kittens behind, but eventually I had to lift them from my lap, as it was time to start the hike down the mountain.

As the Al-Khubtha Trail is a one-way path, this simply meant retracing the exact steps I had taken up.

Fortunately, the hike down to the Royal Tombs is much quicker than the climb up.

Again, I really enjoyed the fabulous views over Petra’s rocky landscape while hiking down the mountain on the Al-Khubtha Trail.

Visiting some tombs

Having completed the Al-Khubtha Trail, I found myself back at the Royal Tombs.

Rather than descending the final stretch down the mountainside towards the Street of Façades, I decided to explore the area a little more, as there were still some minor tombs and a few cave houses here that I hadn’t had time to see on my first day in Petra.

From another viewpoint, I admired the fine views of Petra’s ancient theatre from above before continuing to explore some cave houses and the Uneishu Tomb.

I then walked the final few metres down the mountain and once again stood on the Street of Façades, also known as the Outer Siq.

Despite the cold weather and feeling slightly tired from the hike on the Al-Khubtha Trail, I still had enough energy for a second hike on what was my final day in Petra.

I’ll describe this Petra hike, which takes you to the High Place of Sacrifice and the Garden Temple, and is also highly worth the effort, in the next chapter of this trip report series.

Conclusion

The Al-Khubtha Trail is a popular hiking route in Petra, leading from the Royal Tombs to a viewpoint high above the Treasury.

This viewpoint offers the best vantage point in Petra to see the Treasury from above, a view you are unlikely to forget.

From this viewpoint, you also get a clearer understanding of Petra’s unique geography, as you can truly see the scale of the massive rock formations and how the gorge winds through them.

It takes about two to three hours to complete the Al-Khubtha Trail to the viewpoint over the Treasury and back to the starting point at the Royal Tombs.

As the hike involves climbing up the mountain on a seemingly endless series of steps carved into the rock, a moderate level of fitness is required.

Trip report index

This article is part of the ‘Journey Across Jordan: From Aqaba to Petra and Amman‘ trip report, which consists of the following chapters:

1. Subsidised Flights: Why Airline Tickets to Jordan Are So Cheap
2. The Jordan Pass: Save Money and Time on Your Jordan Trip
3. Exploring Aqaba, Jordan’s Seaside Resort City
4. Jordan Bus Travel: Amman, Aqaba, Petra, Wadi Rum by JETT Bus
5. Wadi Rum Desert: Horse Riding in Lawrence of Arabia’s Footsteps
6. Petra: How to Plan Your Visit to Jordan’s Most Famous Sight
7. A Hike to Ad-Dayr, the Stunning Rock-Cut Monastery of Petra
8. Hiking the Al-Khubtha Trail to the Best Viewpoint of Petra (current chapter)

** rest of the chapters to follow soon **