Located in the village of Al Qahtan about 15 kilometers north of Al Namas in the Asir Region, Jabal Mareer is a mountain of the Sarwat Mountains in the Arabian Peninsula
Jabal Mareer is the highest peaks of the so-called “Bitter Mountains” called this name because of the difficult ascent. On clear days the peak offers views of the Red Sea to the west and the oases of Bisha to the east.
Jabal Mareer has been declared a national park due to pristine forests of juniper trees and other wild life.
Bisha province is a rich oasis in the southwest of Saudi Arabia that has always been known for its fertile land. It joins between the valleys coming from the high mountains, called Palm Bisha, Green Bisha and Black Bisha, where another 45 sub-valleys also meet.
We visited Bisha as part of our 2018 Eid holidays trip to Abha. It’s one of the biggest cities in the Asir region having Domestic Airport so travelers don’t need to worry for food, gasoline or resting places. We found a Pakistani restaurant near Bisha from where we had our breakfast because we left Riyadh in the mid night. Breakfast was good compare to food we find on highways usually and the Pakhtoon restaurant owner offered us separate room to have some rest with family.
By that time we considered Bisha only a small town served as a gateway between south western and eastern parts of Saudi Arabia and had a plan to visit only King Fahad Dam but the natural beauty of the city mesmerized us. It was a big surprise to see a lot of dates farms there and water from dam was flooding the road after getting discharged from the dam. However, we were not allowed to visit the dam; the beauty of the surrounding made our trip so memorable.
I would like to take the advantage of this opportunity to share with you some of the top tourist attractions of Bisha
Palm Trees:
With the recent agricultural reawakening in Saudi Arabia, the General Directorate of Agriculture has started to rehabilitate the agricultural sector with expert farmers.
Bisha is famous for the diversity of its trees spreading along the edges of its valleys. According to Ministry of Environment in the province of Bisha, palm trees in the province are free of all pesticides and are fully organic.
Bisha provides the local markets with many products such as dates, citrus products and honey. However, it lacks proper marketing for external exportation, which contributes to the significant decline of the products’ value.
The Sufri product is known to be the best produced locally and is in high demand from many companies. The statistics center at the Sufri Bisha festival recorded that more than 1.9 million palm trees are highly productive in Bisha, producing around 40 percent of exported dates from the KSA to the world.
Dates Farm in Bisha
King Fahad Dam:
Bisha relies on the rainwater falling on the western and southern mountains, as well as on the city’s highlands. Because of the importance of different sources of water, the Ministry of Environment, Agriculture and Water worked on creating four dams to ensure the permanent existence of water to guarantee the stability of the agricultural sector. One of them is King Fahad Dam which is one of the largest concrete dams in the Middle East and one of the top tourist attractions in Bisha.
The water stored in the dam is used for controlled agriculture, watering neighboring farms, replenishing groundwater and compensating for surface water reduced due to drought along Bisha valley.
Enjoy the beautiful full virtual tour of Bisha Valley in the video
Located in the Dos Region of Al Bahah, Dhaher Ghadaa is a park at a lush green peak in Dos Bani Ali Village which offers breathtaking views of Tihama valley on the west.
The road to the peak passes through very dense and beautiful forest but is a bit scary and not recommended for inexperienced drivers.
I had to visit many places in the same day in this region on my way to Al Bahah so I did not stop at the forest site but I highly recommend to have a short stay in this beautiful forest. I reached here in the morning around 10 am and did not know that park opens in the afternoon so I could not visit the park but I discovered this very beautiful place on the way to Al Bahah.
Enjoy the virtual tour of peak offering views of Tihama Valleys and Dos Bani Ali Village
It was a very pleasant morning there in Ash Shafa on 17-Feb-20. The sky was clear and we could not see any cloud so we decided not to visit Jabal Dakka Peak because we love the peak when it’s covered with clouds instead we headed to Al Muhammadiyah Viewpoint which is opposite to Jabal Dakka.
Al Muhammediyah viewpoint is another beautiful camp site in Ash Shafa. Matal Al Muhammediyah is surrounded by amazing rocks which are naturally placed so beautifully that the visitor can’t live without saying “SubhanAllah”. There were many tracks to the valley but all of them were protected with fences and I don’t have any idea for that. May be there are some private properties or gardens for which they have applied those fences. Somehow, we found a way for which we had to move a few meters off road on the mountain which took us to the south east side of the valley. No one was there at that time in the morning except some wild dogs so we postponed our decision to go deep into the valley now but InshaAllah will try later.
Matal Al Muhammediyah
From Matal Al Muhammediyah we headed to explore Al Masad Dam and amazing Wrd Al Sahfa.
I had to park my car on the roadside and needed to hike few meters to have a complete view of Al Masad dam as the views from the road was not clear. However, locals call it dam; it doesn’t look like a dam instead is a natural water reservoir which stores rainwater which is then used to irrigate the surrounding areas specially the rose gardens. Water level was a bit low when I visited the place just because it did not rain for some time across Saudi.
Al Masad Dam
From Al Masad dam we went to Wrd al Shafa which is very close to it. These are many rose gardens in this part of Al Shafa but unfortunately, we were there at that time when roses have already been plucked from the plants and farmers were preparing for another season.
Rose Garden on the way to Wrd Al Shafa
Wrd al Shafa, which I was thinking a Rose Product Store only, is a Rose Product Factory with Factory outlet beside it. I came here too early that neither the factory nor outlet are opened but when I talked to a Pakistani worker here he allowed me to visit a Dam and Wrd Al Shafa Rose gardens at the back of the factory. However, we were allowed to visit the valley and gardens; the care taker already informed us that there would be no roses in the garden because they have already been harvested to be processed in the factory and new roses would grow in 2 months period.
Surrounded by the typically Rocky Mountains of Ash Shafa, t’s one of the biggest and very beautiful dams I have seen in Ash Shafa so far. There were many white lily flower plants which were increasing the beauty of dam and at a distance looked like floating bunch of beautiful flowers.
Wrd Al Shafa Dam
Dam water was making a small waterfall which was hidden in the grass and natural vegetation in the area. Rose garden was also there deep into the valley and we had to hike for around 300 to 400 meters for the garden.
The gardens owned by Wrd Al Shafa was incredibly big and beautiful but as that Pakistani guy told us it was without roses that time.
Wrd Al Shafa Rose Gardens
Stairs were available at the back of Wrd Al Shafa to facilitate visitors who want to see the gardens without going into the valley but we are not of that kind. We are adventure lovers so obviously we did not use those stairs instead walked up to the dam again and then go to the factory. I’ll take you to the factory to describe how they are producing rose products locally and to the outlet to show their product range in my next blog. Stay connected and enjoy this complete video of the trip.
Situated at a distance of 45 kms in the east of Al Lith City, Hot Spring is one of the best naturally maintained places I have found in KSA. The jungle around the spring and the clear fresh water of the spring make it so attractive in the barren deserts of KSA.
However, the driving from Jeddah to Al Lith was quite boring because we had to travel in the middle of desert in dusty winds which obviously no one likes but this place really made our trip. Water was not that hot as I was expecting but calmness and beauty of the spring was simply out of this world. For me, this is one of the best camp sites in KSA. I wish I had my camp with me today. The water was so clear except for some places where there was some algal growth into the water. In my opinion, these algal growths are due to the non-aquatic plants around the spring and garbage thrown by the visitors in the area. One of the advantages of these algal blooms is that it serves as the breeding and hiding place for fishes.
Hot Spring – Al Lith
I request all the visitors that whenever you are traveling please keep some extra trash bags with you, keep all the waste in that bag and dispose them at the end of the day or when the bag is full at the designated areas only. There are a lot of garbage bins in almost all areas from small villages to metropolitan areas in the kingdom so please keep the environment clean. Nature has created all these beautiful places for us and given us the responsibility to keep them clean and well maintained. It was sad to see some people even throw the diapers in the water.
There’s a very beautiful place in between Al Lith city and Hot Spring which is known as “Nakhl an Nilah”. When I visited it, the whole valley was covered with golden dried grass making it magnificent. I wish I would have come here a month ago when all those grass fields were green making the valley scenic for nature lovers like us.
Nakhl an Nilah
If I am not mistaken the origin of the Hot Spring is Al Lith Dam which is around 8 kms from this point. However, I had the location of Al Lith Dam; I did not visit that because I was running out of time as I had to reach Ash Shafa before sunset as per my plan.
Enjoy the full video of the trip and stay connected for Ash Shafa post in which I’ll cover Al Mohammedeah Valley, Jabal Dakka, Al Masad Dam and Wrd Al Shafa
Balad is an Arabic word which means City or Town and Al Balad was historical center of Jeddah for many years. Bab Makkah which is also situated within this area was the old and historical route for the Hajj and Umrah pilgrims to reach Holy city of Makkah.
With the exploration of oil when Saudi became one of the richest countries in the world locals moved from this historical and less privileged area to north of the city leaving these beautifully constructed historical buildings abandoned.
One of the Building Transformed into Museum
With the passage of time low salaried expats started settling in these buildings. Accepted as UNESCO world heritage sites in 2014 Saudi government is now giving deserved attention to Al Balad district and renovating building in line with their 2030 vision and to promote cultural tourism across the kingdom.
However, there are a lot of renovation work going on; some of the buildings are ready and transformed into Historical Museums which can be visited by taking their entrance tickets.
The district is very famous and a must visit place for visitors from Saudia and Hajj & Umrah pilgrims as markets in the district offer good quality products in comparatively cheaper price.
The best time to visit this place is in the evening after 4 pm because I reached here after 6:30 pm when it was already dark and most of the shops were closed. There’s a possibility to rent a golf cart to travel around the district but I would recommend you to walk as this is one of the best places you will find in Jeddah. If you are tired of walking then enjoy a cup of tea or coffee at any of the coffee shops in the district. I would recommend you have your cup of Tea at Layali Al Tarikhi opposite to Bait Silwam.
Layali Al Tarikhi
Other top tourist attractions within the district include Bab Al Balad, Sharbatly House, Bait Al Hodaif, Bait Ziryab , Matbouli House, Nassif House and Baab Makkah. You can find some more places but these are the minimum you should visit
Enjoy the virtual tour of district with me by watching below video:
A Historical Gem in the Courtyard of Masjid e Nabvi SAWW…
Saqifah Bani Sa’idah, commonly known as simply Saqifah, was a roofed building in Medina used by the Banu Sa’idah clan of the Banu Khazraj tribe. Saqifah is significant as the site where Abu Bakr RA was elected as the first Caliph of the Muslims after the demise of the Prophet Mohammed SAWW.
With the passage of time the shelter (roofed building) was demolished and a beautiful garden has been built at the site which usually gets open after Fajr prayers for around 2 hours but it’s closed now a days due to construction in the courtyard of Masjid e Nabvi SAWW.
Rijal Alma flashbacks in our minds whenever we talk about traditional Arabian architectures. The village is not only famous for the magnificent views offered by its colorful houses but also for its historical significance. Located at a distance of about 50 km from Abha, capital of Asir Region, this ancient village was used to be a natural passage that linked between Yemen, Makkah, Madinah and Levant. After the birth of Islam, it became an important stop for Yemeni pilgrims on their way to Makkah for Hajj. Around sixty South Arabian traditional palaces built of stone, clay and wood talk about the wealth the village accumulated off passing caravans.
Upon reaching Rijal Alma a traveler finds there a place rich in history and tradition which is now turned to one of the most popular tourist attractions in Asir with the most stunning surprises hidden inside its walls. After passing through the sculpted doors, each dark stone building turns out to be the jewelry box containing of a treasure.
Rijal Alma – Wonder of Saudi Arabia
We visited Rijal Alma in mid 2018 during Eid holidays. Visitors can reach the village of Rijal via several roads, the most important of which is Aqabat Sama, linking Abha and Rijal Alma through the famous tourist Souda Center in Saudi Arabia. We selected this route because we were staying in Abha leaving the two other routes linking it to the province of Muhayil Asir and the Hobail leading to Ad-Darb province in the Jazan region.
You must be very careful while driving from Abha to Rijal Alma because the roads are to steep with many dangerous curves. I would recommend you drive in manual mode using lower gears and take at least a stop in the middle of the way to cool your car at any of the resting spot beside the road.
Weather in Rijal Alma is usually warm and more humid than in Abha so wear some light clothes and you might need car AC in the town but when you are going back to Abha don’t forget to switch off car AC otherwise car would be heated. This is what happened with me. We had to stop the car beside road to cool it down (thank God we kept our tent with us which was given to us by Zeeshan as a gift).
Tips: Since Rijal Alma is one of the top tourist attractions not only in Asir Region but also in Saudi Arabia you can find all the necessary things for traveling in the town. Rijal Alma museum has a ticket which was 20 SAR per person when I visited it. I would recommend a few things while traveling to Rijal Alma:
Take very good care while driving down the steep mountain road from Abha. Drive on manual mode with lower gears and take care of dangerous curves.
If going down take care of car’s breaks and tires. Stop the car if you smell burns due to applying excessive breaks.
Keep plenty of water with you all the time. Weather in Abha is usually very pleasant but Rijal Alma would be warm and humid. You might feel excessive sweating specially while touring the fortresses. Water will keep you hydrated.
Switch off your car AC when going back to Abha from Rijal Alma. Your car get dangerously heated on that road full with slops and dangerous curves. If you observe that the temperature is getting increased stop driving and let the car get cooled.
Disclaimer! Some of the literary information have been taken from Arab News, Saudi Arabia Tourism Guide and Aramco Expats pages
We forgot to check the weather forecast for Riyadh while planning lunch at Al Amaaria Cleft as a result we had to have our trip in comparatively warm and sunny day. Keeping in our mind at least an hour drive we left from Iskan around 02:00 pm (an hour late than our initial program) and offered Asr namaz in one of the beautiful mosques in Al Amaaria on our way to cleft. Cleft comes on the left side of the main road if anyone is traveling from Riyadh via King Salman Road. Following the GPS we also took left turn for the cleft but our luck we could not go more than a few meters only because the road was blocked. We could see the cleft from the main road but were not able to make it because the other road was also blocked. We came back on the main road and traveled around 500 meters on King Salman Road (East) and then took right turn and Alhumdulillah that road was open.
We were there by 03:15 pm. The first thing we did there was a complete tour of the cleft followed by recording some beautiful moments with my family on the cleft. After that we selected a clean nonrocky spot for the lunch which was one of my favorites “Prawns Biryani” made by my mother in law.
Prawns Biryani
The weather there was very nice and scattered clouds were making a nice shadow on the surrounding mountains. We spent some more time on the calm cleft and then left back for Riyadh because we had to visit a hanging Strawberry Garden on the way too. Following the GPS we reached the Strawberry Garden but that was closed. Upon my inquiry one of the care taker sitting inside the garden told that garden can be visited only on Friday after Friday Prayers. Upon questioning about the strawberries he told that they are already finished in the garden.
We left the garden and searched for some other open farms as there were a lot of farms and resorts in Al Amaaria and found one very beautiful farm was opened. I went inside farm to meet and get permission from the care taker but no one was there at the gate so I parked my car beside the gate and spend some time there in the farm. After beautiful sunset at the farm we left Al Amaaria for Riyadh.
Tips: If you’re planning to visit the Cleft keep in your mind that there’s nothing near the cleft so you should keep everything with you. You can bring home made food or can purchase from the main market in Al Amaaria but won’t find anything near the cleft. I would not recommend to go to the top with your families but if you’re visiting it with your friends you can go up to the top. I would recommend to have a BBQ at the top with Friends but again keep everything with you. I would prefer to go there again with my friends for camping
After many days of discussion finally me, Javaid and Ameen got agreed to have a BBQ party with our families on 29th of Nov 2019, however, Ameen could not join us because his family had already gone to India on vacation. Next hurdle was to select the venue for BBQ party because of recent ban on BBQ and Sheesha at public places in Saudi Arabia. We had 3 options for the party, first to have it at Hidden Canyon which we visited last year and already knew that the place is not usually crowded but another issue with it was the unavailability of facilities there. In addition that the place itself is not safe to stay with families after sunset, there’re no public rest rooms and street lights at Hidden Canyon. 2nd option was Wadi e Hanifa which we initially selected for the party but my other friends told me not to have BBQ party at Wadi e Hanifa due to recent ban. Finally, we selected Al Ha’ir Lakes and Parks as our venue. I read all the reviews about the place on google and had perception from the reviews that this place would not be good or well organized. Another reason for that perception was that Al Ha’ir Lakes & Parks are almost unknown for Riyadienz.
Preparing ourselves for any misfortune about the place, me and Javaid got agreed that we’ll reach there around 02:30 pm. It’s only around 30 mins journey from my home to Al Ha’ir Parks and only around 10 mins away from Javaid’s place as he is living in Al Ha’ir.
First pleasant surprise was the huge number of cars we saw on the way to park after taking the last right exit to Agricultural Road. I thought that it would be uncrowded place but a lot of people were going there with their families mainly from Al Ha’ir. After covering around 2 kms distance the place itself made us surprise as it was very big, beautiful, and park’s services roads had street poles. Another good thing which made the place safe and secure was Police vans patrolling different areas of park continuously. The scenery of the lake from road was astonishing. However, police patrolling vans gave us confidence that the place is safe and secure; we were hesitant to do BBQ to avoid any kind of fines. After touring few kms within the parks we found that a lot of people were already enjoying there live BBQ there with their families. Finally, we selected a spot near the lake and started our party and stayed there until 6 pm. A lot of families were still sitting there and enjoying the calmness of lake and beautiful clear sky with Moon and StarsHowever, the park was very beautiful; some of the facilities are still not available or might be available in other side of the park like public toilets. We might find these facilities soon there because a lot of developmental work was going on.
Tips: If you are planning to visit the park specially for the BBQ, keep all the necessary items with you. Also keep some snacks and plenty of water as there were no shops near the park. Keep your kids toys and even bicycle if you have plan to visit with your kids. If you want to stay there after sunset, keep mosquito repellent with you.
SAUDI DESTINATIONS 