AlUla
Saudi Arabia · Al-Madinah · 700 m
Description
AlUla is the destination Saudi Arabia built its international tourism around, and it earns it. Hegra, the southern city of the Nabataeans who also carved Petra, stands in open desert as a scatter of more than a hundred tombs cut into freestanding sandstone domes, and it was the country's first UNESCO World Heritage site. Around it lie the older kingdoms of Dadan and Lihyan, the inscription cliff of Jabal Ikmah, and a mudbrick old town abandoned only in the nineteen eighties. The whole valley closes down in the summer heat and runs its season from October to April.
Length of stay
Recommended length of stay: 3 to 6 days (optimal 4 days)
Travel season
Best time to visit: October – April
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
Highlights
- Hegra and its Nabataean rock tombs (UNESCO World Heritage)
- Elephant Rock at Jabal AlFil
- AlUla Old Town and its mudbrick lanes
- Dadan and the Lion Tombs
- Jabal Ikmah, the open-air inscription library
- Maraya, the mirrored concert hall
- AlJadidah Arts District and its restaurants
- AlUla oasis palm walk
- Hot air balloons over the valley (November - March)
- Harrat Uwayrid viewpoint and its lava field
- Sharaan Nature Reserve and its Arabian leopard programme
- Stargazing at Gharameel and its rock spires
- Winter at Tantora festival (December - February)
- Hejaz Railway station and its fort at AlUla
- Rainbow Canyon and the Wadi Al-Nakhlah hikes
Getting there
- Airports:
- ULH