Petra: through the gate at six, the Monastery by noon, candles at half past eight

Wadi Musa

1. 6 am1

   Ticket window at 06:00 and straight down the Bab as-SiqWadi Musa

   50 JD for a one-day ticket if you are sleeping in Jordan, 55 for two days - and if you have not already bought a Jordan Pass online before you flew, you have overpaid, because the Pass covers Petra and waives the visa fee. Day-trippers who cross from Israel and leave the same day pay 90 JD, which is the rule catching people out. Gate opens at 06:00 and the ticket is scanned, so bring the QR and your passport. Decline every horse offer; the ride to the Siq is nominally included in your ticket and is not, and the tip demanded at the end is the whole business model.

2. 6:15 am2

   The Siq on foot, before the carriages start runningWadi Musa

   A kilometre and a bit of 100-metre walls, and until about 07:30 you will hear your own footsteps. After that the horse carriages come through at a trot in a space two metres wide and the sound never stops. Look for the carved camel caravan at knee height on the left about two thirds down, and the Nabataean water channels cut along both walls - the whole canyon was a plumbed aqueduct.

3. 7:15 am3

   Al-Khazneh with a guide and about nine other peopleWadi Musa

   50 JD for a licensed guide from the desk at the Visitor Centre, for two to three hours, and it is the money that turns a photograph into a city - which tombs are Nabataean and which Roman, why the facades erode from the bottom, what the Bedouin who lived in them until 1985 used each cave for. Take the guide for the morning only and do the Monastery yourself. Sun reaches into the Treasury bowl around 09:00 in autumn; before that it is in blue shade, which most people think is worse and is actually better.

4. 8:30 am4

   Street of Facades, the Theatre and the Royal TombsWadi Musa

   Climb the stairs up to the Urn Tomb and walk the terrace along the four royal facades rather than photographing them from the valley floor - the whole basin opens up behind you. The Silk Tomb's streaked sandstone is the one worth standing in front of. This is also where you buy the last cold water at a sane price before the Monastery climb.

5. 10:30 am5

   The 800 steps up to Ad Deir, the MonasteryWadi Musa

   Around 800 rock-cut steps, 45 to 60 minutes up at a steady pace, and it thins the crowd out by about nine tenths - the coach groups turn round at the Colonnaded Street. Go up the middle of the day precisely because the gorge is shaded on one side and the crowd is not there. Say no to the donkeys: they are driven hard, the steps are polished, and people are thrown every season. Two litres of water each, minimum. At the top, the cafe opposite the facade sells tea for about 5 JD and has the only shade.

6. 1:15 pm6

   Late lunch at the BasinWadi Musa

   About 20 JD for the buffet, at the far end of the valley under the trees. It is the only real food inside the park and by 13:15 the buses have gone back up, so you get the shaded tables. Eating here rather than walking out and back saves you two hours and is the reason the Monastery and Al-Khubtha fit in one day.

7. 3:30 pm7

   Al-Khubtha trail to the ledge above the TreasuryWadi Musa

   The legitimate Treasury overlook, signposted from behind the Royal Tombs, about 600 steps. It is not the one touts offer you from the Siq for 20 JD - those are unofficial scrambles and people fall off them. Late afternoon puts the Treasury facade in full sun while you are on a shaded ledge. Budget an hour to get back to the gate afterwards; rangers start sweeping the valley at 17:00 and you do not want to be running the Siq.

8. 8:30 pm8

   Petra by Night: candles the whole length of the SiqWadi Musa

   Sunday to Thursday only, 30 JD on top of a valid day ticket or Jordan Pass, sold at the Visitor Centre kiosk rather than online - buy it in the morning when you collect your day ticket, not at 20:00. Gather from about 20:00, walk in at 20:30. Two thousand paper lanterns down the canyon floor and then the Treasury lit from the ground. Two honest warnings: it is silent only if the crowd cooperates, and hanging back thirty seconds behind the group is what buys you a dark, empty Siq. No tripods, no flash, and a phone will do better than you expect.