Taif
Saudi Arabia · Makkah · 1879 m
Description
Taif sits at nineteen hundred metres on the escarpment above Mecca and is where the Hejaz goes in summer, when the coast is unbearable and Taif is merely warm. It is the rose capital of Saudi Arabia, where several hundred farms harvest damask roses through April and May and distil them into an oil sold by the tola, some of it used on the Kaaba's cloth. The road up from Mecca climbs the Al Hada escarpment in a series of switchbacks with a cable car running down into the valley, and the Al Wahbah crater, a volcanic hole two kilometres across with a salt floor, lies out in the lava fields to the northeast.
Length of stay
Recommended length of stay: 2 to 4 days (optimal 2 days)
Travel season
Best time to visit: March – October
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
Highlights
- Taif rose farms and the distilleries (April - May)
- Al Hada escarpment road and its cable car
- Al Kar Tourist Village
- Shubra Palace and its museum
- Al Wahbah volcanic crater(Day trip)
- Souq Okaz historical festival (approx. August - September)
- Al Rudaf Park and its granite boulders
- Taif fruit and honey markets
- Al Shafa highlands and their terraced farms(Day trip)
- Taif old souq and the Bin Abbas mosque quarter
- Baboons on the Al Hada roadside
- Wadi Mahram and the pilgrim miqat at Al Sail
Getting there
- Airports:
- TIF