Travel Guide

Wadi Hanifa

We have never seen Saudi Arabia  so green  with a flowing river !  This is the Wadi Hanifa and the Riyadh River. Well, this was the place picked for a camping weekend which started one clear Thursday. As usual we met at Burger King, Farm 5 and headed towards Riyadh.  Our first stop was Wadi Atshanta for looking at fossils, by the time we got to the wadi the skies had opened up, and we were in the middle of a downpour.  Our hopes had dampened with the continuous rain. The quarries have taken over the wadi, and have really destroyed the site. After a quick meeting, we decided to continue our journey despite the rain. It was still about 300Km to go.  From Riyadh we turned south to head for AlKharj.

By the time we got to the Riyadh River, the weather had cleared up. We tried to pass the river to be on the other side, but the river was too deep and the water was flowing fast.  We saw huge storks and eagles and cat fish in the river.  We decided to camp away from the river in a really nice area around a small Jebel. We were prepared for a cold night. About 2 am, the clouds opened up and some our tents got soaked.  In the morning the sun came out and we had the opportunity to dry out the bedding and tents. The ladies took over the wheels and went exploring around the Jebels. We went back to the river, and hiked down with the river. It was unbelievable ! The number of birds and plants is incredible.  The river runs for almost 50 Kms.

We tried to get to Al Kharj for Jummah, but didn’t make, we had late lunch here.  We then headed towards the largest well we have ever seen. This is  called the Ayn Dhil, the underground aquifer,  the water level used to appear at ground level, but over the years it has dropped dramatically due to intensive agricultural. A protective fence is built around the well, but gaps have been cut through the wire so that people can gaze at the edge of the well. There is pump station built by Saudi Aramco in 1930s which is still operative. Swifts and pigeons swoop around the walls of the wells.
From Al Kharj it was a long drive back home

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

More:

1. Khurais Information15 to 20 million years ago, most of the eastern part of Saudi Arabia was covered with ocean. In this area around Khurais you can find fossilized remains of marine life, especially sharks teeth.  A tooth becomes a fossil when...
2. Aburi Botanical Gardens InformationAburi Botanical Gardens The century-old botanical gardens, situated on the Aburi mountains, about an hours drive from Accra offers a rich collection of tropical flora and fauna which attracts a collection of birds and butterflies not found in the rest...
3. Accra Travel InformationAccra Capital and largest city of Ghana, on the Gulf of Guinea . Accra is an important commercial, manufacturing and communication center. It’s the site of an international airport and focus of the country’s railroad system, including a link to...
4. Kumasi Travel InformationThe ancient capital of the Ashanti kingdom, Kumasi is still the heart of Ashanti country and the site of West Africa’s largest cultural center, the palace of the Ashanti king. To add to the appeal, it’s surrounded by rolling green...
5. Madagascar Travel InformationOfficial language is Malagasy and French. You have very little chance to make yourself understand with English, especially in rural areas. Time has different value there, so do not haste to arrange anything in half an hour. No way. Do...
6. Oman Frankincense InformationAnother famous Omani product is incense, especially frankincense for which Oman is famous as the world’s biggest producer. The frankincense resin producing trees only grow in two other places, the Hadhramaut region in Yemen and in northern Somalia. In ancient...
7. Janadriya Cultural FestivalJanadriya Cultural Festival This an annual cultural festival which is held at Janadriya. It is organized by the National Guard and takes place at a special  permanently built site some 45km outside Riyadh (near the Airport). It includes traditional dancing,...
8. Diriyah Old CityDiriyah This ruined walled city, just west of Riyadh (11 mi/18 km), was the capital of the First Saudi Empire, the forerunner of modern Saudi Arabia. The First Empire collapsed in 1818 when the Ottoman Turks captured Dir’iyah and razed...