What To Wear In Petra, The Checklist

Petra's paths are sand over rock, polished smooth in the Siq and loose everywhere else. The Monastery is about 800 uneven steps up and the same down, at the point in the day when your legs have already done 5 km. Trail shoes or trainers with real grip; not sandals, not new boots.

If you will only do the day-trip core — Siq, Treasury, Street of Façades, Royal Tombs — trainers are fine. The Royal Tombs still involve steps. A wheelchair-accessible route runs to the Treasury; the visitor centre arranges it.

There is no dress code at the Petra gate and you will see every kind of clothing inside. Shoulders and knees covered is a courtesy in Wadi Musa town and in the Bedouin tea stalls, and it is also simply better sun protection. Long light layers win on both counts.

For Petra by Night, bring the jacket regardless of month: you sit on the ground in front of the Treasury for an hour at 21:00.

From March to May and September to November it is 20–27 °C: one light layer for the 06:30 start, then short sleeves and a hat. From June to August it is 33–36 °C with almost no shade after the Siq. Cover up against the sun rather than for anyone else — below the knee and long sleeves are better against that light than bare skin — and carry more than the 2 litres.

Winter days are 13–15 °C, and heavy rain closes the Siq, so a waterproof layer earns its place from December to February. Two situations need a jacket in any month: Petra by Night, which starts at 20:30, and a two-day loop with a night in Wadi Rum, where the desert after dark is far colder than the day. The shoes do not change with the season: closed, with grip.