Give AlUla three days. Spend the first morning on a Hegra tour, then Elephant Rock at dusk. On the second, tour Dadan and the inscriptions of Jabal Ikmah, walk the Old Town and the Oasis Heritage Trail, and eat in a mud-brick house. On the third, see Maraya in the Ashar Valley and drive up to Harrat Viewpoint for sunset. Book every site tour ahead: private cars cannot enter Hegra or Dadan.
AlUla is a palm oasis in a sandstone valley in north-west Saudi Arabia, on the old incense road. The Dadanite and Lihyanite kingdoms ruled from here, the Nabataeans carved Hegra's tombs a short drive north, and a mud-brick town stood on the oasis until the 1980s.
Saudi Arabia's first UNESCO World Heritage Site holds 111 monumental tombs, 94 of them decorated, cut by the Nabataeans in the 1st centuries BC and AD. It is their largest site south of Petra, and Qasr al-Farid, carved from a lone outcrop, is the one to photograph.
A 52-metre sandstone outcrop worn by wind and water into an elephant with its trunk on the ground. It needs no ticket and has free parking, and it is at its best as the sandstone turns red at sunset.
Dadan was the capital of the Dadanite and Lihyanite kingdoms, centuries before Hegra, and its Lion Tombs sit high in the cliff face. Jabal Ikmah, a canyon nearby, carries inscriptions in Dadanitic, Thamudic, Minaic, Nabataean and Aramaic.
About 900 mud-brick houses packed below a hilltop fort, lived in from around the 12th century until the 1980s. The restored lanes now hold cafes, restaurants and Dar Tantora, a hotel lit by candlelight.
The lookout sits at 1,219 metres on the volcanic plateau of Harrat Uwayrid, above the whole valley and its palm groves. It is free, with parking at the top, and OKTO, a Greek restaurant, serves dinner on the rim.
Guinness lists it as the largest mirrored building in the world: a 500-seat concert hall clad in 9,740 square metres of mirror that reflects the canyon around it. Designed by Giò Forma, it hosts concerts and exhibitions.
Balloon flights run through the cooler months and last 45 to 60 minutes, over sandstone outcrops and the oasis at dawn. The AlUla Skies festival in November sends up 30 balloons at once.
A 3-kilometre path through the farms below the Old Town, past mud-brick houses, old city walls and the palm and citrus groves that still feed the valley. It is open day and night.
A field of sandstone pillars far from any town light, and the place AlUla's night-sky tours go. Most pair a desert walk and a campfire dinner with a guide who reads the constellations.
AlUla's art quarter: murals on the walls, ATHR Gallery, a public library, a music hub, shops and restaurants. It hosts exhibitions for the AlUla Arts Festival each winter and is free to walk.
A stop on the Damascus to Medina line, completed in 1907, now in AlManshiyah Plaza.
Saudi cooking with AlUla oranges and dates, in a village house below the fort. Bib Gourmand.
An oasis under AlNizar Fort, in the basalt fields of Harrat Khaybar, about 200 km south-east.
1,500 square kilometres of red canyons and valleys, with a mushroom-shaped rock.
The date harvest, with growers' markets selling the oasis's Barni and Helwa dates.
A desert music festival in AlUla over the National Day weekend.
Running and endurance events in the valley, from a half marathon to a 24-hour race.
Mass balloon flights, plus glow shows at Hegra and Elephant Rock.
Events across AlUla's ancient sites, with activations in Khaybar and Tayma.
The Old Town's winter festival, held over the turn of the year.
Exhibitions and installations across AlJadidah and the desert. Many are free.
A five-stage UCI ProSeries cycle race through the valley and up to Harrat Uwayrid.
Prince Abdul Majeed bin Abdulaziz Airport, about 25 km from the town. Saudia flies from Riyadh and Jeddah; flydubai launched flights from Dubai in 2022, so check the season's schedule.
The sites spread across a wide valley, so most visitors hire a car. Medina and Tabuk are each about three hours away by road. Carry an international driving permit.
Private cars cannot enter Hegra, Dadan or other protected sites. Park at the visitor centre and continue by tour bus; Hegra tours leave from Winter Park.
Taxis wait outside the airport around the clock, and hotels run transfers if booked ahead. There is little public transport, so book a return pickup from remote sites.
AlUla's signature date, grown on most of the oasis's two million palms.
The national rice dish, with lamb or chicken. Tofareya flavours its version with AlUla oranges.
Pale Saudi coffee with cardamom, poured from a dallah and drunk with dates.
Cracked wheat cooked for hours with meat until it collapses, finished with fried onion.
Discs of hand-rolled dough simmered in a spiced meat and vegetable broth.
Thin dough folded around minced meat, egg and leek, fried flat until crisp.
Small fried dough balls soaked in date syrup, sold hot at festivals.
Oranges and lemons from more than 200,000 trees in the oasis, pressed into juice.
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