Al-Ula

A broad valley in northwest Saudi Arabia, Al-Ula has been continuously inhabited for millennia, its floor bearing the remains of successive civilisations including the Nabataean-era city of Hegra, the Lihyanite tombs of Dadan, and an Ottoman Hejaz Railway fort. The surrounding landscape of rust-red sandstone formations — wind-sculpted into freestanding towers, arches, and mushroom shapes — provides one of the most dramatic natural photography settings in the Middle East. The area has opened to tourism since 2019 after long being restricted.