[BloggerMathai]

I had recently started following Riyadh Hiking's Instagram account and was looking forward to doing one of their hikes to a ridge called Jebel Fihrayn but popularly known as "The edge of the world".

How to get there:
There are many tour operators that offer day trips to Jebel Fihrayn; including luxury SUVs, purpose-built 4x4s and mini buses. I was traveling with a large group of people and we were in the bus as part of the convoy. The last proper road ends at the outskirts of Sadus village and from then on its just unpaved rocky terrain all the way to the ridge.

The ridge (or should I say canyon?) is about 90 kilometers outside of Riyadh city and involves a significant amount of off road driving. The terrain is mostly firm but extremely rocky so your biggest concern isn't getting bogged down but the real danger is shredding your tires on the rocks and jagged stones all across the path. Most of the vehicles in our convoy had high profile tires with AT patterns. The hard core off road vehicles, like a few Rubicons and Lancruisers had some kind of crawler type tires.

We stopped about 3 kms away from the ridge and hiked the rest of the way, after all, the name of the group was Riyadh Hiking

The first leg of the hike

My first view coming out of the vehicle


Miles and miles of small hills and the tire tracks will tell you which route to follow


Our group moving in single file


Walking up a slight incline before you reach the first valley


A close up of the limestone-like rock at covers the ground


The sun was slowly setting so I used the opportunity and my angle against the sun to try some silhouettes. They look like ants here


From the distance I could see people climbing on one of the peaks and looking down into the valley


Group photo opportunity


A Saudi gentleman taking a picture of the cliff


This is the hiking route that takes you to the main cliff. You can see that some of the sections are quite narrow.


Reaching the cliffs

Then the edge came into view! I have a severe fear of heights and at certain places on the path there were sections where it was only wide enough for one person and it was nerve wracking to figure out how to negotiate maneuvering around an oncoming hiker. As you can see from the picture above, its a straight drop down.

The landscape was unlike anything else I'd ever seen in all my years in the Middle East. I'd previously been to Mutla Ridge (Kuwait), Jebel Hafeet (UAE), Hatta (UAE Oman route) and Wadi Darbat mountain road (Salalah, Oman) and this was equally impressive.

Truly majestic!


The trail that leads to the last of the two cliffs. You can see some locals have parked their LC there and stopped for tea at the edge


The golden hour before sunset really brought out the colors and beauty of the rocky formations


You can see the narrow path on the right which you have to closely follow around trail


People making their way across the trail


The sunlight was almost hitting the horizon and this made everything look golden


You can see a Toyota pickup in the distance following the path towards a few camp sites


Zoomed in on one of the interesting rock shapes but it was too far to hike to and sunlight was slow dying


I took out my fish-eye lens for some final shots in the widest angle possible

Hikers admiring the view


My long hike back across the ridge and back to solid ground


Ending the day

The day ended with a well earned break at a nearby campsite where we did some cave exploring, followed by dinner, sheesha with some music and dancing (I didn't participate in dancing ) The guide had instructed us to carry warm clothes and head gear since it would get quite chilly at night and while we were at camp, it did get around to 15 degrees.

The group setting up chairs and sheeshas


Boiling water for tea and local 'gahwa' or ginger coffee


The group gathering around the fire


The package included the following;
1. Trip to Sadus heritage village + lunch
2. Pickup and drop from a common meeting point (Starbucks Hiteen)
3. Off road to the hiking trail
4. Evening snacks
5. Bat cave exploration
6. Dinner
7. Campfire, music, ATVs and sheesha

Total cost was 350 SAR (approx 6650 INR)

Here's a short video I took of the trip

https://youtu.be/eyC4nJpt_3Q

[BloggerMathai]

Since this is an automobile forum, it would be a sin to conclude without any actual automobiles, wouldn't it?
Here are some of the amazing vehicles that were found happily crawling around the ridge. I also found this group called Desert Storm SA, who conduct desert tours in specially modified Rubicons and LCs. I think my next trip will be with them. Stay tuned!

A Pajero making its way up the hill


Stopped on the incline


Land Cruiser stopped while the driver gets out to investigate something in the path


The Pajero was parked here now and the owner probably went exploring in one of the small burrows or cavities you see around the area


A Prado making its way up the incline


A Prado parked in the shade


A Land Cruiser pickup. The most common color for these are beige and this one looked like a custom paint job


A pair of Wranglers parked at the ridge


A Cherokee with the hood up, cooling off


An FJ Cruiser getting ready for the trip downhill


Another FJ parked by the side


A Prado peeking over the edge

[BloggerMathai]

Sadus Heritage Village

Our travel package included a visit to a 400 year old settlement on the outskirts of Riyadh, Ad Diriyah in Turaif district; called Sadus Village. There are a few date palm plantations on the way to the heritage village and some stone quarries and the rest is just open desert.

The area is not a UNESCO heritage site and you can read more information about it here

An excerpt:
"Ad-Dir’iyah, or Diriyah, was the first capital of the Saudi
Dynasty, in the heart of the Arabian peninsula, northwest
of Riyadh. Founded in the 15th century, it developed
by using adobe as its building material. It bears witness
to the Najdi architectural style, which is specific to the
centre of the Arabian peninsula. In the 18th and the early
19th century its political and religious role increased, and
the citadel of at-Turaif became the centre of the temporal
power of the House of Saud and of the spread of the
Wahhabi reform inside the Muslim religion. The property
includes the remains of many palaces and an urban
ensemble built on the edge of the ad-Dir’iyah oasis."

We were taken on a short tour of the fort, which is a traditional clay and straw built palace with lots of rooms and storage areas. One part of the compound consisted of the original palace which is now in ruins and is preserved as is.

We were served lunch and given time for a short break before we headed out to the main attraction, Jebel Fihrayn, which is the first post. Here are some pictures taken at the heritage village


The outside of the compound and main watch tower


View from the terrace and the surrounding palm trees


The ruins of the old palace


View from the terrace of the hills in the distance


The preserved structure, although in ruins


Another angle


There are many corridors leading to different chambers and rooms, all the lights have now been electrified and there are no more oil lamps


A wooden gate that leads to an exit


A small window with the traditional patterns painted on the shutter


I liked this wall with the single window and the lamp above it


An oil lamp hanging at the corridor that has a view of the old palace


I found out this was a preserved wheel from some cart or vehicle from the old palace


One of the dried up wells in the compound. The rope is missing but the rest has been preserved


The men's meeting room, "Majlis", where coffee is served


Another view of the Majlis


There was a Chevy Cheyenne Super 20 parked outside the fort. I think it was just kept for display and didn't look like it had been moved in months


A front view of the Chevy

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[deepcdc]

Great find buddy !

The picture are great !

Also the Pajero that you referred to, looks more like a Montero. Or maybe the Montero's are branded as Pajero's there ?

Also do they allow you to rent a 4x4 and drive it there yourself ?

[Johnnny]

Place looks awesome! I was staying in Jubail for a while and we never came across such events happening. Thanks for the info!

[landcruiser123]

Wow, incredible. Stunning photos of a country that I've heard very less about. People tell me that it very difficult to obtain a Saudi tourist visa. Are you employed there? (Feel free not to answer this question)

[arvind71181]

Great pictures buddy. Not sure I will go there, seeing that I have a fear of heights.

Somehow, doing a sky dive is ok for me, but walking over spaces like this is a no-no. Looks like I have more trust in others (sky diving) than on myself

[Maveryq]

Originally Posted by landcruiser123

Wow, incredible. Stunning photos of a country that I've heard very less about. People tell me that it very difficult to obtain a Saudi tourist visa. Are you employed there? (Feel free not to answer this question)

Not any more. If you have an US Visa or a Schengen Visa, its easy to get a visa on arrival.



Compared to the challenges that were there a few years back, much more easier to get visas.

[bsdbsd]

Just fantastic. Thanks for covering this area in a first of sorts on this forum. Absolutely incredible. This has shades of Utah's Canyonlands national park. Given the dry, windy desert weather, I am not surprised.

[BloggerMathai]

Originally Posted by deepcdc

Great find buddy !
The picture are great !

Also the Pajero that you referred to, looks more like a Montero. Or maybe the Montero's are branded as Pajero's there ?

Also do they allow you to rent a 4x4 and drive it there yourself ?

Thanks!
The international model Montero is called the Pajero here along with the Montero Sport.

4x4s are available for rent although I would prefer to go to places like this with an experienced navigator and proven vehicle

Originally Posted by Johnnny

Place looks awesome! I was staying in Jubail for a while and we never came across such events happening. Thanks for the info!

You're welcome!

Originally Posted by landcruiser123

Wow, incredible. Stunning photos of a country that I've heard very less about. People tell me that it very difficult to obtain a Saudi tourist visa. Are you employed there? (Feel free not to answer this question)

Thank you!

It was not easy to get a tourist visa here up until 2019 and then everything changed last year and now they're actively inviting people to visit KSA and explore the place.
Yes, I'm employed here. Been here since 2018.

Originally Posted by arvind71181

Great pictures buddy. Not sure I will go there, seeing that I have a fear of heights.

Somehow, doing a sky dive is ok for me, but walking over spaces like this is a no-no. Looks like I have more trust in others (sky diving) than on myself

I'm not a very adventurous or sporty person and this was a scary experience indeed but I kept close to the ledge as possible and did not try peeping straight down like everyone else was doing. Also avoid the temptation to take selfies at the ledge

Originally Posted by Maveryq

Not any more. If you have an US Visa or a Schengen Visa, its easy to get a visa on arrival.


Compared to the challenges that were there a few years back, much more easier to get visas.

Yup, on-arrival visas for US, UK and Schengen visa holders. Plus, the immigration system has been streamlines the past few years. Now it take just a few minutes to clear immigration and there's an E-gate too.

Originally Posted by bsdbsd

Just fantastic. Thanks for covering this area in a first of sorts on this forum. Absolutely incredible. This has shades of Utah's Canyonlands national park. Given the dry, windy desert weather, I am not surprised.

Yup, this place is straight out of the Roadrunner and Wile Coyote cartoon

[philipmathen]

Amazing write up, lovely pictures. Of course, no Saudi travelogue is complete without the LCs, spent my childhood there, nice to see them open up to more leisure activities.

[ferrariKSA]

Amazing...Never knew Riyadh has such places too.
Nice pics Too.

[Anuj 6227]

Good to see Saudi Arabia opening up, the new Jeddah airport is something to talk about, it will surely give some serious competition to Dubai in near future.

[khanmaj]

Great write up! Thanks for sharing this beautiful travelogue. Amazing photos from a country which is known for pilgrims and sacred places and very less for tourism.