AlUla
Dadan, the Lihyanites and then the Nabataeans built along this valley on the incense route, and Hegra — the Nabataeans' second city after Petra — holds 111 carved tombs whose inscriptions are dated and named, which Petra's mostly are not. Saudi Arabia issued no tourist visas until 2019, so almost nobody has seen it, and access to the tombs is capped.
Why go
Hegra — a Nabataean city of 111 carved tombs, sister to Petra and almost empty. Dadan and Jabal Ikmah — an older kingdom's capital and a canyon of inscriptions in five scripts. Sandstone at scale — Elephant Rock and the wadi walls, best in the hour before sunset. A country opening — Saudi Arabia issued tourist visas only in 2019, and AlUla is the flagship.
The character
AlUla sits in a wadi on the incense route, and three civilisations left their capitals along twenty kilometres of it. Dadan ruled here in the first millennium BC and cut lion tombs into a red cliff. The Lihyanites followed. Then the Nabataeans — the builders of Petra — established Hegra as their second city, carving 111 monumental tombs into sandstone outcrops between 1 BC and AD 75, with inscriptions that are dated and named, which Petra's mostly are not.
Hegra was Saudi Arabia's first UNESCO World Heritage site, in 2008, and for decades almost nobody saw it: the country issued no tourist visas until 2019. What has followed is a state project of unusual ambition — a royal commission, an airport, hotels, a concert venue cut into rock, and a strict cap on visitor numbers to the tombs. The old town of mudbrick, abandoned in the 1980s, is being restored. It is the rare case of a great site arriving on the world's list fully formed and carefully managed, and the emptiness will not last.
Places of character
Hegra — guided tours only; Qasr al-Farid, the unfinished tomb standing alone, is the image everyone takes. Dadan — the lion tombs high on the cliff face, visible from the valley floor, older than the Nabataeans. Jabal Ikmah — an open-air library: hundreds of inscriptions in Dadanitic, Thamudic, Minaic, Nabataean and Arabic. AlUla Old Town — nine hundred mudbrick houses abandoned in the 1980s, partly restored, with a citadel above. Elephant Rock (Jabal AlFil) — a sandstone monolith best at dusk when the fires are lit around it. Maraya — a mirrored concert hall in the desert that reflects the wadi and disappears.
The way to do it
Book the Hegra tour before arriving; access is by rawi-guided vehicle only and caps are real. Go to the sites at either end of the day — midday light kills the sandstone. Dress conservatively as is expected in Saudi Arabia generally. And allow a full day for the old town and Jabal Ikmah, which most visitors rush.
One perfect day
Hegra at the first slot, moving between tomb clusters with a rawi as the light comes across the sandstone and the façades take shape; end at Qasr al-Farid standing alone in the sand. Late morning at Dadan for the lion tombs and Jabal Ikmah's inscribed canyon. Lunch in the oasis under date palms — the wadi has been farmed continuously for two millennia. Afternoon rest through the heat. Late light at Elephant Rock as the sun drops, then AlUla Old Town's mudbrick lanes at dusk with the citadel above. Dinner in the oasis, and a desert sky with no light pollution at all.
Grand hotels
Banyan Tree AlUla — tented villas in the Ashar valley between sandstone walls. Habitas AlUla — low villas in a canyon, the property that opened the destination in 2021.
When to go
Best expression: November to March — daytime around twenty-five degrees and cold desert nights. Consider: February for the Winter at Tantora season of concerts and events. Avoid if possible: June to September, when it exceeds forty-five degrees and the sites close early.
The frame
Ideal stay 3 nights · Minimum 2 nights · Best arrival by air from Riyadh or Jeddah · Airport ULH, 35 km · Walkability within sites only · Best without a car no — distances between sites are large