High Adventure in Arabia - Baha, Asir, Najran

The Middle East's Best Climbing, Canyoning, Trekking, and Biking.

Nov 26, 2008 David Black

South of Saudi Highway 40 and east of the Empty Quarter is a rib of granite mountains and a series of enormous canyon systems running 500 miles to the Yemen border.

This is the second in a series of articles on Arabia's climbing, canyoning, biking, and trekking opportunities. For travel logistics, see High Adventure in Arabia - Mecca and Riyadh.

Al Baha

East of Al Taif, Highway 15 drops southeast through Al Baha. A 25 mile drive south on Highway 246 to Mikhwa passes by the amazing 1200-foot granite tower, Al Qara. Farther to the southeast along Highway 15 leads to Al Baha Province and the city of Tonomah, where giant clean granite domes and faces dominate the landscape.

Asir

Highway 15 eventually leads to the Asir Province. A climber's first stop in Asir should be the expansive granite paradise of Wadi Bin Hashbal, just off Highway 255 north of Khamis Mushayt. A handful of U.S., Brit, and Aussie expats first explored the climbing here in the early 1990's. In 1996 it was visited by Chamonix guides who placed hundreds of bolts in an attempt to commercialize it.

A few miles west of Khamis is the provincial capital, Abha, where for 10 Riyals one can climb Arabia's largest outdoor artificial climbing wall. Just east of Abha along the escarpment near the village of Al Gaal is Wadi Tayyah. This wadi is one of Arabia's precious few Class C technical waterfall canyons, dropping over 5000 feet in less than a mile and a half.

Near Abha is Al Habala, a popular tourist site complete with tram and theme park rides. In past centuries villagers from the hanging village raided settlements above the rim and escaped down the 400 foot face using ropes. The original route has been turned into a via ferrata. 20 Riyals pays for a ride down the tram to the village and a guided trip up the via. The face below the tram has a classic bolted route (5.9 II).

Jizan and Najran

50 miles south-southeast of Khamis Mushayt is a 7x10-mile mountain plateau which, on sat maps, distinctly resembles the shape of West Virginia. This is the Wadi Lajab-Wadi Athrab complex, a system of impressively deep sandstone canyons reminiscent of Zion National Park. Climbing, canyoning, trekking, and mountain biking possibilities are endless here. Access to the area is through the village of Ar Raith. Travellers need nerves of steel here. Every male in the region is armed with knives and firearms.

Two hundred miles southeast of Khamis is the city of Najran. A wonderful two-pitch crag decorates the city landscape near the local amusement park. The crag is brightly lit at night, and climbers can play there in the relative cool of evenings and early mornings. Caution should be taken to avoid provoking local residents, who do not react kindly to outsiders peering down on their property from the cliffs above.

Again from Highway 15, Highway 255N wanders through a maze of granite domes and towers, passing through the desert surrounding Ranyah, and intersecting Highway 40. A turn to the east leads to Riyadh, and to the west to Jeddah. And to the north? It’s pure magic, and the subject of the next article in this series. Ma'a Salaama.

The copyright of the article High Adventure in Arabia - Baha, Asir, Najran in Rock Climbing is owned by David Black. Permission to republish High Adventure in Arabia - Baha, Asir, Najran in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.