Asir Region 2026: Saudi Arabia's Secret Highland Destination

Rijal Alma Heritage Village

A UNESCO Tentative World Heritage Site — a 500-year-old Asiri stone tower village continuously inhabited for centuries. The architecture is extraordinary: multi-storey towers of black slate and white quartz, decorated with coloured glass and carved wood. The village museum contains historical artefacts, traditional clothing, and documentation of Asiri culture. One of Saudi Arabia's most important heritage sites and, remarkably, still largely unknown to international visitors.

Al Sooda Cable Car

The cable car from central Abha to the Al Sooda plateau covers a 3,000-metre altitude change over 9km — one of the world's most spectacular cable car routes. The views of the terraced mountain villages, frankincense plantations, and distant Red Sea coast are extraordinary. The cable car departs from central Abha and takes approximately 20 minutes. The return journey at dusk, when the valley fills with shadow and the peaks catch the last light, is unmissable.

Asir National Park

Saudi Arabia's most biologically diverse national park — home to Hamadryas baboons, Arabian leopard (critically endangered), over 300 bird species, and frankincense trees. The park spans 4,500 square kilometres of highlands, wadis, and coastal escarpment. The highland sections around Abha and Al Sooda are easily accessible; the escarpment trails offer views over the Tihama plain that have no equivalent anywhere else in the Kingdom.

Traditional Asiri Architecture Trail

The Asir highlands have a uniquely decorated architectural tradition found nowhere else in the world — tower houses with geometric painted facades in bold colours (deep blue, terracotta, white, and black), coral and stone construction, and elaborately carved wooden doors. The village of Al Habala (accessible by cable car) is particularly well-preserved. A private guide with deep knowledge of the tradition adds a layer of understanding that transforms the visual into the meaningful.