AlUla is a sandstone valley in the north-west that holds Saudi Arabia's first World Heritage Site, and it is the single strongest reason most first-time visitors come.
The valley was farmed and settled for thousands of years because it has water, and it sat on the incense road running north out of southern Arabia. That combination left four distinct sites within a short drive of each other: the Nabataean tombs at Hegra, the cliff-cut capital at Dadan, the inscription canyon at Jabal Ikmah, and the mud-brick Old Town.
It is also the part of the country that has been built out for visitors most deliberately - guides, transport between sites, and a season of events - so it is the easiest place to spend three or four days without needing to solve logistics yourself.
Getting there and when to go
October to March is the workable window; summer in the valley is severe. Most sites are visited by guided tour with transport included, and Hegra can only be entered that way.
What is here
What the tourism authority says
The Old Town of AlUla stands as a witness to history, like an open book. Its narrow alleys form a labyrinth of hundreds of clay houses built side by side, like a fortress protecting the memory of the place.
Key facts
| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Opening pattern | most opens 8-9am; busiest after 3pm; shops to 11pm, most restaurants to 1am |
| Year inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List | 2008 |
| Number of preserved tombs | more than 110 |
| Hinat, the reconstructed Nabataean woman | Excavated 2008; reconstruction shown at the Hegra Visitor Centre |
| What it was | Capital of the Dadan and Lihyan kingdoms; cliffside carvings placed nearly 50 metres high |
| Height | 52 metres |