alula
The mysterious valley of Saudi Arabia.
What AlUla is
In northern Saudi Arabia — an ancient valley hidden among red sandstone cliffs. A valley with a history of more than 2000 years — the country's first UNESCO site, more mysterious than Petra.
Today AlUla is Saudi Arabia's leading tourism project under the Vision 2030 programme. The twelfth-century Old Town stands beside the mirrored Maraya building, the Habitas and Banyan Tree boutique hotels host world-class guests, and at dawn hot-air balloons rise over the red cliffs.
A little-known wonder of the same ancient civilisation — almost without tourists.
It was built by the Nabataeans — the same architects who carved famous Petra into the rock. Their city in southern Arabia stood apart from the world for millennia. Today travellers come here among the first — and that makes being here now all the more precious.
Few have heard of it
Everyone has heard of Jordan's Petra. Of its Arabian sister — almost no one. You'll be here ahead of most of your compatriots.
Sisters of one civilisation
The same era, the same craftsmen, the same façades carved into red rock. Only without the queues that have wound into Petra for years.
A wonder still being revealed
Excavations are under way right now — AlUla is revealing itself to the world in these very years. You're seeing it at the very beginning.
What people usually think about AlUla
And what it actually turns out to be when you arrive.
AlUla is not an add-on to the trip. Often it becomes the very thing people talk about most afterward.
What you'll see
Any one of these places would be reason enough for a trip on its own. Here they are gathered in a single valley.
A city carved into the cliffs
Saudi Arabia's first UNESCO site. Colossal façades carved into red sandstone by ancient masters. You stand at their foot — and feel the scale of a vanished civilisation.
The Old Town of AlUla
Twelfth-century clay houses in a labyrinth of narrow oasis lanes. Today — restaurants, craft workshops, lighting by night.
Elephant Rock
A natural sculpture 52 metres high — a giant elephant carved by the wind in sandstone. An open-air café at its foot.
The mirrored Maraya building
A Guinness record — the largest mirrored building in the world. It reflects the red mountains around it perfectly, as if dissolving into the landscape.
Stargazing at Gharameel
One of the best places in the world for astronomical observation. Saudi Arabia's black sky and hundreds of thousands of visible stars. Dinner by the fire beneath the Milky Way.
Hot-air balloon rides
Dawn over the valley from a bird's-eye view. AlUla from above is an entirely different planet.
Travel programmes
Getting acquainted
Maraya, the Old Town, Elephant Rock. The base option — ideal as a continuation of Umrah.
Immersion
Everything from day 1 + the Sharaan reserve, dinner beneath the starry sky at Gharameel.
Full
Everything from day 2 + a hot-air balloon ride, a camel farm, personal time at the Habitas boutique hotel.
When is the best time to go
The season — from October to March. By day +20-28°C, cool at night. From April to September — heat of +35-45°C, tours possible only in the early morning. The best nights for the starry sky — at the new moon; it falls in any month of the season.
Doubts before adding AlUla
Fair questions — and honest answers. Open any card.
Is it far and troublesome?
The answer →The domestic flight is a couple of hours; everything else is turnkey: transfers, hotel, guide. You simply take in the view.
Is it worth it?
The answer →Guests most often call AlUla the greatest discovery of the whole trip — even those who have already seen the world's famous places.
Is it safe, especially with children?
The answer →Yes. AlUla is a calm, well-kept tourist region. We'll tailor the route and pace to the children's ages.
Is this fitting alongside Umrah?
The answer →It's for you to decide. Many see discovering the world created by the Almighty as part of the path — we simply open that possibility.
What is there to do besides the stones?
The answer →Maraya, a hot-air balloon ride, starlit skies, dinners in the desert, camel farms — this is about experiences, not history alone.
Will I overpay as a first-timer?
The answer →We calculate transparently and to your budget — from a short visit to full immersion. With nothing unnecessary pushed on you.
How we organise it
As part of an Umrah tour
The standard option — 1-3 days in AlUla straight after the pilgrimage. The logistics and transfers are on our side.
Tourism without Umrah
Saudi Arabia has been open to everyone since 2019. You arrive in Riyadh or Jeddah — we arrange the flight to AlUla and the programme.
Author — your own route
A nikah in the valley, a jubilee beneath the stars, a corporate event at Maraya, a week at Habitas — we put it together to suit the goal.
How AlUla moves its guests
Real impressions from those who have already been to the valley with GO SAUDIA — videos and reviews, unembellished.
Get a calculation for AlUla
Tell us when and with whom you'd like to go — a manager will be in touch within 5 minutes during working hours (08:00-00:00 MSK).