Al Hada Road

The road from the coastal plain up to Taif climbs the Hejaz escarpment at Al Hada in a series of some ninety hairpin bends over a rise of well over a thousand metres, which makes it one of the more dramatic drives in the country and a fixture of Saudi road photography. At the top the Al Hada resort area sits at around two thousand metres with a noticeably cooler climate, hotels and viewpoints over the drop. A cable car runs from near the summit down the escarpment to the Al Kar resort below, a descent of several hundred metres with the road visible winding beneath. Baboons line the roadside verges and are fed by passing drivers.

What you actually see

• The hairpin bends - the road switchbacking up the escarpment.
• The cable car - the descent from the top toward Al Kar.
• Escarpment viewpoints - the lookouts over the plain below.
• Roadside baboons - the troops that gather along the verges.

When to go

October to April, when the escarpment is clearest; cloud and mist frequently sit on the top. Summer is when Saudis come to Taif for the cooler air, so it is busiest then. Weekends are congested.

Honest expectations

The road carries heavy traffic including trucks and accidents are frequent on the bends. Cloud often removes the view entirely. Feeding the baboons is discouraged but constant and the animals are aggressive. The cable car closes in wind.

Nearby

Taif lies above the escarpment; Mecca is below to the west.