No description of Petra, the red city of stone, does it justice. With new revelations every few steps, its history, size and symbolism are staggering. The journey begins at a bridge over a dam built to divert the Wadi Musa river from flowing through the As-Siq, or chasm.

What looks like a ravine of sorts, perhaps edged by raging waters, is really a three-quarter-mile path created by the shifting of tectonic plates. The rock was split and the identical swirl patterns can be seen on opposite walls. The path narrows in spots to a mere six feet across, and winds over Roman paved sections and past an ingenuous series of water troughs carved into the 650-foot walls. Eroded carvings of camels, vacant niches and the reddening sand all lead to the first big find of Petra — the Treasury.

The Nabataeans, a nomadic Arab tribe, settled in the area around the sixth century B.C. and became rich by charging tolls from the trade caravans passing through.

The Treasury dates back to between 100 B.C. to 200 A.D. Built as a tomb for a Nabataean king, stories of hidden treasure play into its name.

Carved from the reddish iron-filled sandstone, from the top down according to tour guide Youssef Hilo, the façade is 141 feet high and about 98 feet wide. Disappointingly, the interior, which you can see from the top step, is vast, yet empty.

This is just the first stop of a daylong trip to Petra. Depending on the degree of effort the tourist expends, a day in Petra can be a walk in the park or a true test of endurance.

Told that the view from the top of the mountain was not to be missed, I opted for the endurance test. My donkey, Jack, decided if he had to get me two-thirds of the way to my destination, that he would walk as close as possible to the edge of the steep steps. Even the occasional pat on the neck to encourage him away from the edge didn’t fail to deter his heart-stopping trek.

But the donkeys only go so far, then it’s on foot up steep stone steps, brushed lightly with a slippery coat of sand, and eventually across a flat expanse. The monastery, a beige stone structure larger than the Treasury, is the first payoff for this long journey. Built in the third century B.C., it went from being a temple to likely a Byzantine monastery.

Spray-painted signs that read, "View" with an arrow indicate the path to take next. High atop the stone peak are the most breathtaking views of earth, and more specifically Wadis Musa and Araba. Even a fear of heights doesn’t stop the weak-kneed from going that last extra few feet to pose for a photo "on top of the world." Layers of mountains, ravines and gorges, all in varying shades add to the spectacle.

The return trip is anticlimactic, except for a sense of accomplishment. The path weaves around curious stones, past Bedhouins selling necklaces, a makeshift outdoor café, and eventually back to flat ground. The colors of the rocks change throughout the day, so by late afternoon atop a camel, actually a dromedary — an Arabian racing camel, for the ride back to the Treasury, the colors are stunning. Then it’s aboard a horse-drawn carriage for what becomes a race back to where the day started, knowing that the hidden city of Petra still has much more to explore.