Get spellbound
The incredible natural rock and geographical formations of AlUla
The deserts of AlUla continue to astound visitors with a variety of striking rock and topographical formations, including Elephant Rock, Fish Rock, Face Rock, Volcanoes, and Lava Flows.
AlUla, in northwest Saudi Arabia, is a city with a remarkable natural and human heritage and is about 1,100 km from Riyadh. The vast area, covering 22,561km², includes a lush oasis valley, towering sandstone mountains, and ancient cultural heritage sites dating back thousands of years to when the Lihyan and Nabataean kingdoms reigned.
The most well-known and recognised site in AlUla is Hegra, Saudi Arabia’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site. A 52-hectare ancient city, Hegra was the principal southern city of the Nabataean Kingdom and comprises 111 well-preserved tombs, many with elaborate facades cut out of the sandstone outcrops surrounding the walled urban settlement. Current research also suggests Hegra was the most southern outpost of the Roman Empire after the Romans conquered the Nabataeans in 106 CE.
In addition to Hegra, AlUla is also home to ancient Dadan, the capital of the Dadan and Lihyan Kingdoms and considered to be one of the most developed 1st millennium BCE cities of the Arabian Peninsula, and Jabal Ikmah, an open-air library of hundreds of inscriptions and writings in many different languages. Also AlUla Old Town, a labyrinth of more than 900 mudbrick homes developed from at least the 12th century, and Hijaz Railway and Hegra Fort, are key sites in the story and conquests of Lawrence of Arabia.
AlUla is home to a wide range of flora, fauna, and human communities for thousands of years. Centered around its famed oasis and framed by sandstone mountains, AlUla’s geography, environment, and climate have enabled human communities to flourish here.
AlUla has a unique and extraordinary landscape because of the three distinct geological eras packed together in one region. The earliest of the geologic ages which formed the rocks of AlUla was during the Precambrian Arabian shield rocks, which are marked by different layers of sedimentary rock. Laid down over millions of years, these rock layers contain a permanent record of the Earth’s past, including the fossilised remains of plants and animals buried when the sediments were formed.
The area’s underlying sandstone was created during the Cambrian period over 485 million years ago, and tectonic activity has helped further shape its dramatic geology, creating volcanic landscapes, basalt plateaus, and sandstone massifs. These geological features enable the area to act as a water catchment basin with an area of nearly 700 sq. km, allowing the valley to flow southwards towards AlUla’s settlements. Trilobite trace fossils discovered in AlUla’s sandstone date to at least 252 million years ago and provide evidence of some of the earliest life in the area. The soft and porous rock, perfect for carving, also acts as an aquifer that can store the vital freshwater resources required to sustain life in an arid environment.
Following that was the black basalt layer formed by volcanic eruptions creates the dramatic plateaus called the Harrat. The desert of AlUla is famous for its several geological rock formations, formed over millions of years by the hands of the best sculptors, the wind and the water, to form natural shapes untouched by human hands, and to become exceptional natural shapes that are unseen except in this vast natural desert. With the contrasts of these colours and the lush green oasis running through the middle, AlUla is like no other place on earth.
Here are AlUla’s nine most incredible natural rock formations
Elephant Rock
The Elephant Rock is one of the world’s most popular rocks and the highlight of the region of AlUla. Looking at it from afar, this rock seems
like an elephant with a ground-bound trunk. The Elephant Rock is also known as Jabal- AlFil in the Arabic language. Standing at a height of 52 meters, the giant rock climbs three stories into the Arabian sky. The beauty of this mighty elephant increases at nightfall when it becomes more lifelike in the warm lights that have been installed at the site.
Mushroom Rock
You can find several Mushroom-shaped rocks in the deserts of AlUla. The most famous is located in Sharaan Nature Reserve. Mushroom rocks are a wonderful natural phenomenon usually formed as a result of the erosion of sedimentary layers over millions of years.
The remaining part of these layers is exposed again to wind, resulting in the lower parts of the layer breaking down more quickly.
The Fish Rock
This Desert Fish was recently gone viral on social media through a photo taken by the photographer Khaled AlEnazi, as he spotted a rock in the form of a fish in the desert sands and transformed through millions of years ago into one of the most important ancient archaeological inscriptions and strange rock formations that marks the lands of AlUla.
The Face Rock
Amongst the monumental tombs of Hegra, next to Jabal AlAhmar (Which means The Red Mountain due to the colour of its rocks), you will notice a formation that resembles the profile of a human head gazing out over the desert landscape. As with all of AlUla’s rock formations, sunrise and sunset are prime times to visit, when the light plays on the sandstone, seeming to illuminate the rocks from within — a magical sight for observers and photographers alike.
The Arch Rock
One of AlUla’s most recognisable rock formations, The Arch (also known as Rainbow Rock) is well worth the 90-minute drive from the centre of the city. Its bridge-shaped structure, which resembles a rainbow flanked by two clouds, is a rare sight indeed. The Arch Rock hosted Symphony Under the Stars back in March 2022 as part of the AlUla Skies Festival events, which was dedicated to the spectacular starry night of the desert of AlUla.
The Dancing Rocks
The Dancing Rocks are so-called because these formations are sculpted by nature to appear as if they are swaying in unison. Located in the Raggasat Valley, the rocks seem to dance together, slightly removed from the surrounding rock formations. This place is famous for hiking activities and dune buggies experience.
Besides these attractions, Stargazing packages welcome tourists to gaze at Gharameel’s stone pillars and follow their spires upward toward the twinkling stars. In the remote desert areas of AlUla, find stark, black volcanic rock and inactive volcanoes which stand atop sandstone and are surrounded by seas of golden sand to make for truly dramatic, other-worldly sights. Khaybar, the neighbouring Oasis in the south of AlUla, is well known for its two famous; The White Volcano and the Black Volcano. Harrat Khaybar includes a spectacular 100 km long vent system containing lava domes, tuff rings, basaltic cones, and the Jabal Qidr stratovolcano. The last eruption in the Harrat Uwayrid is believed to have occurred around 640 CE. The best way to see these formations is by taking a helicopter tour to see incredible formations from a panoramic sky view.