SAUDI ARABIA Top Ten

The Saudi Arabia Top Ten lists are a quick reference point to the absolutely unmissable Top Ten Sights in Saudi Arabia, as well as the most exciting Saudi Travel Experiences, and the country’s most notable hotels. There are of course besides a myriad of other marvels and wonders to been seen and experienced. Every list is by its very nature highly subjective and restricting ourselves to naming just ten has been no easy editorial task! We hope that our Saudi Arabia Top Ten suggestions will provide a flavour of the country’s stunning historical and natural wonders and inspire you to explore further. On our Saudi Arabia tours page you will find more detail; including an extensive list of private tour suggestions and a guide on where to travel. Alternatively, call us! We would love to hear from you.

Saudi Arabia Top Ten Sights

Madain Saleh

Madain Saleh’s rock-hewn tombs were ‘lost’ to the world until Charles Doughty’s ‘rediscovery’ in 1876 and are now Saudi Arabia’s premier tourist attraction. Built by the Nabataean Arabs as their southern capital, Madain Saleh is set in a spectacular desert landscape studded with sandstone monoliths a short drive from modern Al Ula. Anciently known as Hegra or Al-Hijr, the city was built around the 1st century AD to protect the Nabataean’s lucrative long distance camel caravans bringing precious trade goods from south Arabia to their principal settlement of Petra (in Jordan).

Rijal Almaa

Set amongst the stunning mountain scenery of the Jabal Al Soudah in Asir province, the village of Rijal Almaa is considered to be one of Saudi Arabia’s great cultural gems. This prosperous trading centre was located astride an important trade route between Yemen and Mecca and Medina to the north. The village is comprised of some 60 multi-story fortress-like houses built of stone, clay and wood climbing up a steep hillside. Within, the houses are colourfully decorated in the regional Al Qatt Al Asiri style. Several of the houses have been converted into museums and can be visited.

Wadi Al Disah

Wadi Al Disah (Valley of the Palm Trees) is another of Saudi Arabia’s great natural wonders. Located in the Prince Mohammed bin Salman Natural Reserve to the south of Tabuk, this beautiful mountainous valley extends for some 15km and is framed by giant columns of rock and perpendicular smooth cliffs that rise up to 500 metres above the lush vegetation, water pools and palm trees. Wadi Al Disah is beautiful spot for a hiking and off-roading also contains several archaeological sites that include Nabataean tombs.

Umluj Islands

The 104 subtropical islands known as the Saudi Maldives are a place of mesmerising natural beauty and one of the most unexpected and spectacular sights in the Kingdom. Located just off the Red Sea coast between Umluj and Wajh, these blissfully deserted atolls are fringed with bone white sands, turquoise waters and technicolour coral reefs. Chartering a simple shaded fishing boat and island hopping between sandbars and islets is the ultimate way to discover this snorkelling submarine paradise.

Al Balad, Jeddah

A highlight of any visit to Jeddah is exploring Al Balad – the city’s old quarter founded in the 7th century. On entering this UNESCO World Heritage Site, you are immediately struck by Al Balad’s unique architecture of towering houses built of coral stone with their distinctive latticed rawsheen balconies. Then, winding your way through an evocative rabbit warren of narrow lanes, you’ll be immersed in history as you explore the incense infused souqs, traditional houses, and antique mosques the include the Shafi Masjid – the oldest in Jeddah. There is nothing quite like it in Saudi Arabia!

Diriyah

The UNESCO World Heritage Site of Diriyah, the capital of the first Saudi state, is located to the northwest of Riyadh. Diriyah’s mubrick walls once housed a thriving desert city that was a power house of culture and commerce. The city’s Turaif district was the original seat of power for the Al Saud family. This vast open-air museum contains carefully restored examples of Najdi architecture and atmospheric twisting mud-brick lanes that give the visitor a sense of the way of life in the first Saudi capital some two hundred years ago.

Harrat Khaybar

The lava fields of the Harrat Khaybar are another of Saudi Arabia’s great natural wonders. This fabulous volcanic lunar landscape between Medina and Al Ula extends over some 14,000 square kilometres is complete with scoria, cones, lava domes, maars, and basalt lava flows. The white coloured volcanoes of Jabal Abiyadh and Jabal Baydah along with the nearby black cone of Jabal Qidr make an amazing spectacle. Walkers can follow a path to where the creamy lava from Jabal Baydah merges with the dark flows of Jabal Qidr.

Jubbah Rock Art

The UNESCO World Heritage site of Jubbah has some of the world’s most exciting rock art. Located in the midst of the Great Nefud Desert, a 90-minute drive to the northwest of Hail, the celebrated rock arts sites of Jubbah are covered with panels of petroglyphs. The surfaces depict extremely accomplished and finely executed figures that shed light on human activities, hairstyles and clothing during the Palaeolithic period. Some of the rock art may be as much as 11,000 years old.

Al Ahsa Oasis

Al-Ahsa is the world’s largest oasis. In a country where most of the land is arid desert, the presence of some 2.5 million date palms, 150 natural springs, and countless gardens is nothing short of miraculous. This UNESCO World Heritage Site has been continually inhabited since Neolithic times and represents a unique evolving cultural landscape. In Al Ahsa you’ll be able to stroll through Al Hofuf’s atmospheric souq, taste some of Saudi Arabia’s best dates, visit the 1400-year-old Jawatha Mosque, and explore the nearby Jabal Qarah Caves.

Elephant Rock

Elephant Rock (Saharat al-Fil) is the most well-known of Al Ula’s geomorphological wonders. Carved by nature from the soft red sandstone and set amongst a stunning landscape of rocky monoliths, Elephant Rock stands 52m high and ‘stands’ on a bed of golden sand. This striking Al Ula landmark has a massive ground bound trunk and what appears to be an eye. Nearby, are the weathered stack of stones resembling a mushroom and called Masha Allah by locals.

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