Wadi Al Lith

A little less than 200 km southeast from Jeddah (in Saudi Arabia) is a beautiful oasis called Wadi Al-Lith. It is an unusually warm area due to the magma chamber underneath. Unlike the stereotypical oasis, it is not a smallish lake with palm tees and camels around it. It has a large area with many beautiful streams surrounded by thick, lush vegetation. You can see varieties of birds hopping about, dogs lying down, and cows grazing contentedly. There are also camels with their herders, and tiny minnows swimming in the steams.

When we entered Wadi Al-Lith, we immediately saw a heard of camels (with their herder) eating leaves peacefully and drinking water from the stream.

The lush green of the oasis was a breathtaking sight, especially after the harsh beige of the rest of the desert.

A cow grazing in the desert is a pretty surprising thing to most of us, but the cows here seem to love this oasis.

Along with the cows, another unusual occupant of this oasis are the dogs.

This oasis might not seem like a perfect place for a bird, but in fact there are quite a lot of birds to be found here, eating the insects disturbed by the grazing cows. From a woodpecker on the ground-

-and an egret by a stream-

-to a finch and it's nest, the oasis is a pretty good place for birds (in a desert). 

Apart from the animals and birds, there are fish to be found in the streams, too. Tiny flathead minnows, flitting about the stream, are perhaps one of the only fish found inland in the Kingdom.

To me, however, the thing which I like most about Wadi Al-Lith is not the animals, or the fish, or not even the birds. It is the beautiful scenery, the lush green trees and grass, and the beautiful sparkling streams.

At last, we got a final look at the beautiful oasis of Wadi Al-Lith before leaving it.

Wadi Al-Lith is a wonderful and beautiful place, and part of it's beauty is the fact that it is mostly undeveloped. If you get a chance to go and visit it, you really should. 

But please do not throw your trash there. The area has lots of garbage bins provided by the municipality, but they are largely ignored and garbage is thrown almost everywhere. 

Let's keep this area beautiful so more people can enjoy it.