As the name suggests, “Little Petra” is like Petra but smaller! also known as Siq al-Barid, it is much smaller than the main Petra Archaeological Park, and it also has fewer structures and fewer tourists. Little Petra can be visited on its own or as part of your trip to Petra. Note that Little Petra is also an alternative entrance to the main Petra Archaeological Park.
Welcome to Little Petra, Jordan
Like the main Petra site, Little Petra was created by the Nabataeans about 2,000 years ago and has facades hewn from the cliffs and chambers dug into the rock. Experts are unsure about the purpose of these structures but they believe that Little Petra was perhaps a residential suburb of the larger Petra. Little Petra may have housed visiting traders passing through Petra along the ancient trade routes from Arabia to Syria and beyond.
ProTip: The Arabic name, Siq al-Barid means cold canyon, and its location in a narrow gorge means it doesn’t get much sun, so pack a warm jacket.
In the 1st century AD, the Nabataeans expanded their growing city by building into the rock cliffs of Little Petra. After the decline of the Nabataeans Little Petra was abandoned and forgotten just like the larger city of Petra in the 7th century.
Ancient structures in Little Petra
In the west people had heard of the Lost City of Petra but they were unable to visit the region while it was under Islamic rule. In 1812 Swiss explorer Jacob Burckhardt reached Petra but he didn’t report seeing Little Petra. Between the 1950s and 1983 archaeologists were working on further excavations north of the main site of Petra when they came across Little Petra.
In a later exploration of the site in 2010 a chamber was discovered that still had Nabataean decorative frescos. The frescoes depict grapes, vines, and cherubs in the Hellenistic style. This is the only surviving example of Nabataean interior art in situ.
In 1985 Petra became a UNESCO World Heritage Site together with Beidha and Little Petra.
Little Petra is located about 8 km north of Wadi Musa. It can be reached via a small road that stretches around Petra from Wadi Musa and through the Bedouin village of Umm Sayhoun. Pro Tip: Go a little further and explore the Neolithic site of Beidha.
Little Petra Siq
Like its bigger namesake, Little Petra is entered through a narrow canyon. Along the way, the canyon widens at several points where you can see temples carved in the cliffs with rock-cut steps leading to the entrances.
After the first Nabataean dwellings, the canyon narrows again and continued for about 50 meters to an open area. Here you will find the highest concentration of structures.
Stairs of the little Siq, Little Petra
Tricinia
There are four tricliniums, a Greco-Roman style formal dining area with seating on three sides. This area may have been used to entertain merchants.
Little Petra Biclinium
The Biclinium or dining room is where you can see rare Nabataean frescoes on the back wall and ceiling of the chamber. The paintings have earned the Bicinium the name the Painted Room. The paintings show the Nabataean connection to the Dionysiac religion. Experts believe that the paintings date back to about 40BC-25AD. The Painted Biclinium has a flight of rock-cut stairs leading up to the opening that accesses two connected chambers. The first larger chamber has stone benches on both sides of the entrance.
Little Petra biclinium
On the south wall of the first chamber are stucco decorative architectural embellishments. The second smaller chamber has a vaulted ceiling and paintings of small animals, birds, vines, flowers, and cherubs. The paintings depict local flora and fauna as well as grape cultivation that took place in the valley 2000 years ago. One of the most important elements of these paintings that makes them unique is the depiction of human figures.
Cistern
This ancient cistern is what remains of a complex ingenious water system devised by the Nabataeans.
Viewpoint
This is the best place to get a birds-eye view of the wadi. From the western end of Little Petra, there are steps carved into a hill that leads up to a hilltop. From here you can get panoramic views of Petra.
ProTip: You can continue for another 6 km from this elevated viewpoint down a rough path to ad-Deir in the Petra Archaeological Park. If you are not continuing into the Petra archaeological Park then you need to double back and retrace your steps back to the car park.
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