Taif (Ta’if), a city with 700,000 residents near the western edge of the Najd Plateau, stands at a crossroads. To its west, between the highland and the coast, lies the holy city of Mecca. To the east, the road leads to Riyadh across the barren and flat interior. To the south, along the plateau’s edge, you reach Abha. And to the north, surrounded by a volcanic moonscape, is Medina. At over 1800 meters above sea level, Taif enjoys a pleasant climate. While the city itself has few attractions, the surrounding hills offer beautiful points of interest. The descent towards Mecca with its winding road looks dramatic, which you can view from the Al-Hada area. A cable car service runs above a section of the serpentine road, and the historic Kara Trail is also in this same valley, or rather gully. Along the plateau’s edge you’ll find other areas with remarkable views, such as the Harithi Escarpment and Al-Shafa. A bit further afield, the volcanic landscape hides a stunning sight.
The Kara Heritage Trail is part of the ancient caravan route that connected Mecca and Taif. Known as Darb Al-Jamalah, “the cameleers’ way”, the route is mentioned in historical accounts from the 11th century CE. It was regularly used by pedestrians until the mid-1960s when the spectacular freeway between Mecca and Taif was built. Today the ancient trail is not accessible in its full length, except for the restored Kara Trail, named after the peak above the wadi.
On a clear day, you can catch sight of the Clock Tower of Mecca from the Harithi escarpment. However, if this is your primary reason for embarking on this hike you might end up disappointed. The weather is often hazy, sometimes quite considerably. However, as long as it is not completely hidden in fog or clouds, the view of the distant foothills and plains is stunning. You are standing on a granite mountain on the perimeter of the plateau; there is a big drop on one side and rolling green hills of the highland on the other.
Also known as Maqla Tamiyyah, Al-Waba (Al-Wahbah) stands out as a uniquely stunning sight. It’s a volcanic crater below ground level with a circular pattern of a sodium phosphate deposits at its bottom. It is usually dry, but the bottom fills up with water after it rains, forming a small shallow lake. The crater with the saline “iris” in the middle looks like a gigantic eye in the vast volcanic plain.
