Thursday, January 24, 2019

Wadi Lajab

Wadi Lajab is a stunning valley 130 KM North-East of Jizan. The drive there from Jizan is equally amazing. Mountains surround you and the road snakes through them, steep and treacherous. You can’t see what’s coming after those hairpin bends, and that adds to the thrill. If both the car and the driver are good and know what they are doing, you will enjoy it. You will notice the green mountains and the small picturesque houses and villages. They make this drive one of the most beautiful I know.

You exit the road and enter the valley through a small opening that is very easy to miss. 



High mountain walls surround you as you drive on a narrow gravel trail through what looks like another world. 





Flowing seawater appears under your wheels as you go further, and keeps increasing. The gravel eventually turns to big stones, and you have to stop and continue on foot.



You follow a stream, walking in what is one of the most beautiful places in Saudi Arabia. 



The high mountain walls still surround you, and green trees and vegetation appear, fed by the flowing water.


The stream forms pools, where tiny black fish dart about. Sometimes it gets deep, and you have to wade in it and get wet.



The boulders get very large at places, and you climb them, until you finally get to the end of the valley. 



The valley becomes narrower and the two mountain walls meet. Cold water cascades down into a pool where you can swim for a while and relax before returning.


Sharaan Nature Reserve

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