Things to do in Saudi Arabia

1. Hegra (Al-Hijr): The Nabataeans' great southern city, where more than a hundred carved tombs rise out of the sand north of AlUla.
2. At-Turaif, Diriyah: The restored mudbrick capital of the First Saudi State, on a bluff above Wadi Hanifah at the edge of Riyadh.
3. Edge of the World (Jebel Fihrayn): Sheer cliffs on the Tuwaiq Escarpment where the plateau ends and the desert plain stretches to the horizon.
4. Al Balad (Historic Jeddah): Jeddah's historic heart, where tall coral-stone houses with carved wooden balconies lean over lanes that once led pilgrims to Makkah.
5. Elephant Rock (Jabal AlFil): A 52-metre sandstone elephant in the desert near AlUla, best watched as the sun sets and the fire pits light up.
6. Maraya: A giant mirrored box in the Ashar Valley that reflects the canyon walls so perfectly it seems to vanish.
7. Rijal Almaa Heritage Village: A cluster of stone tower houses, up to eight storeys high, tucked into a green valley below the Asir escarpment.
8. Masmak Fort (Al Masmak Palace): The clay fortress in old Riyadh whose capture in 1902 set in motion the founding of the modern Saudi state.
9. National Museum of Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia's flagship museum, walking you from meteorites and rock art to the incense trade and the founding of the kingdom.
10. Kingdom Centre and Sky Bridge: Riyadh's best-known skyscraper, crowned by a glass-walled bridge 300 metres above Olaya.
11. AlUla Old Town: A labyrinth of mudbrick lanes beneath AlUla Fort, quiet by day and alive with cafés and lantern light in the evening.
12. Al-Qarah Mountain (Jabal Al-Qarah): A rocky mesa in the Al-Ahsa oasis whose narrow, cool caves stay pleasant even at the height of summer.
13. Farasan Islands: A scatter of low coral islands in the southern Red Sea, with empty beaches, mangroves and a slow pace of life.
14. Wadi Disah: A deep sandstone canyon in the north-west, where towering rock pillars rise over streams, reeds and wild palms.
15. Jeddah Corniche: Jeddah's long seafront promenade, where the whole city comes out to walk, picnic and watch the sun sink into the Red Sea.

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