Hiking in Saudi Arabia
“To walk in nature is to witness a thousand miracles.”
Mary Davis
This is my second post in my series of outdoor activities you can do around the Kingdom. You can read the first post about climbing mountains, if you are a climber 😉. In this post I’m going to write about my top Hiking places in the kingdom. So, if you enjoy hiking, keep reading, I’m sure you will find a new and gorgeous place in our Kingdom.
- Prophet route:
There is nothing called like this, but I’ve named it this way. It is the route the prophet Mohamad used to walk from the holy mosque to Jabal Al-Noor. It is located in my city Makkah.
The route is very long; keep in mind that this route is now different than before because of the houses, street, etc. However, you can hike from the holy mosque to Jabal Al-Noor with a little help from google map if you are not a local. I would recommend doing that, if you are interested, in winter.
- (Al-matal) Fehrin mountain or as foreigners call it “ the edge of the world”:
Before I start, please call it like a local, it is easy and short don’t westernized our landmark! :). The mountain located at the end of Twaiq mountain, north west Riyadh city. It will take around 1:30 to 2 hours’ drive from the capital. Of course, you need 4wd to get there. I would recommend going there in the winter as the central part of the kingdom has a very hot weather in the summer (I mean it is really HOT).
- Maghair Shuaib: Tabuk
Tabuk will never disappoint you, I mean it. It has a wide range of natural wonders; the most beautiful scenery of mountains, valley, and the coast.
Maghair Shuaib is located in Tabuk region in Al-Bada’a Governorate you can go for a hike to cave in maghair Shuaib. Maghair Shuaib is an ancient area, it dates back to the Nabateans. So, you lucky you are going to hike in a place where our ancestors (May they RIP) walked, camped, and fight for our land!
- Caravans trails/ Darb Aba Al-Qad:
Again, near Al-Riyadh, Tuwaiq mountain this ancient camel trail located. There are three trails the easiest to reach is trail one. I can imagine you are wondering why we call it the camel trail, right? Well, back in time camel caravans needs to reach up tuwaiq mountain. Therefore, people have built these trails; where the camel not only reach the top of the mountain, but also finds their way to Riyadh and going to Makkah for religion purpose. So, that’s the little story behind it😊. It is a beautiful place to hike to, however, as I always recommend going there in WINTER. It is not an ideal place to go in summer unless you love torturing yourself.
- Heet cave (Dahl Heet):
It is located 30 km southeast Riyadh, close to Al-Karj city. Situates at the face of Mount Al Jubayl in Wadi AL- Sulay in a small village called Heet in Riyadh. The site is dated back to thousands of years ago, where a star rocked this place, and then it became a location for groundwater. Ain heet (spring of heet) depth is 390 meters, and can be recognized by an old and desolated pump house. Have you noticed that all the places I have listed until now is an ancient with historical events?.
The location: N: 24 29’09.6 ; E:046 59’48.2.
- Wadi Al-heno: Yanbu
It is located north of Yanbu city. The place is amazing to visit after raining season where all the area turns green. So, I would recommend going there in the spring and winter.
- Alhijrah road: Makkah
Al-Hijrah road hiking you can take it either from Al-Madinah to Makkah or vice versa. It is the route the prophet took to travel from Makkah to Al-Madinah back in the days. Certainly, you need to do it in winter if it was part of your plan to hike it, as it is very hot in summer.
- Waba crater (locally magla’a tamiah):
Around 255 km northeast of Taif and 714 km west of Riyadh. The crater is 3 km wide and 250 meters deep with saltpan at the bottom centre of the crater. It is a perfect place for camping, hiking and trekking. It is best to hike there either early or late in the day and during the cooler winter months, although it is near Al-taif city, it is hot in the summer.
- Shuaib mebrek: Madinah aba ad dud
It is located in northwest Al-Madinah city about 30 km drive. The area called a wild white park. You can go for hiking, camping or even climbing as the area surrounded by mountains. The best time to visit is in winter time and sometime the beginning of the spring.
- Qala’ah Asfan: Makkah
Asfan is a city located northwest Makkah, about 80 km, and 40 km from king Abdulaziz international airport. Nothing better than hiking in the winter to Qala’ah Asfan (btw Qala’ah is Arabian word of castle).
- Al-Sdarah: Madinah
Al-Sdarah is a village located in southwest Al-Madinah, around 65 km. Al-sdarah is a beautiful place to hike or camp to in the winter where you can enjoy the scenery of falling water between the mountains, one of the famous waterfalls there is Al-Msaibid. So, winter and autumn are the perfect time for hiking in Al-Sdarah.
- Al-ermah : Riyadh
It is located east of Al-Riyadh. It is a geographically diverse area, it has both mountains, wadi, Rawdah etc. The area is very well known locally, many people visit it in the winter and spring season as the weather during this time is AMAZING. You can go for a hike and better enough hike and camp, trust me you will never regret it.
- Wadi Al-Gomod aka Mystery Valley
This place could be the best place to visit. The mountain structure is just unbelievable, I have a deep believe that this place was a sea area back in time.
- Jabal Abyad and Jabal Bayda
You will surprise if you know what is this place hah, keep reading. Al- Jabal Al-Abyad ( the white mountain, “abyad” meaning white in Arabic in the word’s masculine form) , it’s also known as Al-Ras Al-Abyad ( the white head) located in Khaybar, Al-Madinah. It is 2092 m high, and it’s actually a lava field (“harrats” in Arabic), are you surprised ?! . It is the Kingdom’s highest volcano, and close by stands Jabal Baydah ( the feminine form of white), its sister white ash cone. Hiking to there is difficult though not impossible if you’re properly equipped and physically fit. You Can climb, but you should take precaution as it has dangerous surroundings. The area is an ancient and have a lot of historical events that dated back to prehistoric inhabitants. Another fascinating information is whenever it is hot is Al-Madinah, Al-Jabal Al- Abyad is cold. So, you are going to hike through time, enjoying the beautiful weather and see the wild beauty.
- Jabal Al-isba’a (finger mountain): tuwaiq
It is part of the Tuwaiq mountains, you can go for a hike or camp. You should know by now when to visit this place ( not in summer). BTW, the mountain dated back to million years ago 😉
The location:
- Jabal Qidr:
In the same area of Al- Jabal Al-Abyad and Al-bayda, Jabal Al-Qidr located. In contrast to Al-Jabal Al-Abyad, Jabal Al-Qidr has the deep dark lava. These lavas along with the lava of Al-Jabal Al-Abyad created fantastic patterns of shades on the ground in between the craters. Hiking in this place will make you feel you are walking in a painting.
