Epic landscapes, diverse wildlife and the creative capital city of San José draw many visitors from all over the world to Costa Rica – don't risk a last-minute disappointment by not having your paperwork in order.
25.07.2023 - 10:49 / matadornetwork.com
Visually, parts of AlUla feel like the set design for Star Wars: A New Hope thanks to an expanse of beige-colored desert mountain ranges in each direction. On a recent visit, myself and a group of travelers joked that we half-expected Jawas and Jedis to appear from behind a 12-story chunk of aeon-old sandstone rock.
AlUla, of course, has more to it than just loads of breathtakingly diverse landscapes.
Located 1,100 km from Riyadh, in northwest Saudi Arabia, AlUla is a sweet spot where natural and modern wonders beg to be traversed. Its ancient heritage sites date back many millennia, with hieroglyphs etched in stone and tribal tombs. Its twenty-first century culture includes a revitalized upscale market, a lush oasis valley, and heart-pumping activity, among others.
Thankfully, you’re not going to be bumping elbows with the tourist throngs – at least not yet. While previously a stopover for Saudis en route to the Hajj in Mecca, AlUla’s primed to receive more attention now that the Kingdom has opened up in recent years as it embraces sweeping cultural reforms.
Visas to the country are good for 90 days, but you can fit a lot a week here.
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From the last week in April to mid-May, enjoy watching hundreds of hot air balloons take flight. You can also get in a basket to enjoy and appreciate AlUla’s majestic landscape, the desert expanse, from a mile in the sky. Morning takeoffs offer an elevated view of Hegra, while afternoon flights give a 360-degree view of the region.
AlUla Skies Festival: Winter park, Hegra 43542, Saudi Arabia
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This is adrenaline-central for trips to AlUla. Steady those steps on the 45-meter-long ladder up the side of a cliff (with safety harness). At the top, take a heart-stomping 150-meter zipline into the canyon below. Afterward, prepare for the equivalent of a right-side up bungee jump, called The Giant Swing, dropping 85-meters while suspended by cables.
The Adventure Hub: MVG8+7M5, AlUla 43513, Saudi Arabia
Photo: Dave Gordon
The Nabataean city of Hegra is a UNESCO World Heritage Site where you can explore any number of a hundred tombs carved in stone. The jaw-droppingly intricate facades will invariably elicit comparisons to Petra, Jordan. The big difference is that your photos will not include scads of other photo-bombers like in Petra. Hegra was the main southern city of the Nabataean Kingdom, and the southernmost outpost of the Roman Empire, after conquering the Nabataeans in 106 CE.
Hegra tourist entrance point: QW5W+6V9, Hegra 43541, Saudi Arabia
Photo: Dave Gordon
Transport yourself into the ancient city of Dadan to view 2,000-year-old storytelling in ancient languages
Epic landscapes, diverse wildlife and the creative capital city of San José draw many visitors from all over the world to Costa Rica – don't risk a last-minute disappointment by not having your paperwork in order.
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If you know someone who’s been to Saudi Arabia, chances are they visited AlUla. There’s a good reason for that. Located in the Medina province in northwest Saudi Arabia, AlUla is defined by its almost surreal landscape of canyons, wadis (dry valleys), sandstone cliffs, and ancient Arabic rock dwellings and tombs that trace the 7,000-year history of people living in the region. It’s also the home of Hegra, the country’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site, a city built by the Nabataeans – the same civilization that built Petra – over 2,000 years ago. Thanks to this concentration of geographic and historical wonders, it’s no surprise that AlUla has become the centerpiece of Saudi Arabia’s burgeoning tourism push.