The presence of palm trees makes this place relatively cool and pleasant to walk around. Just go to Mount Harrat viewpoint to see the extent of Al Ula oasis. The presence of water and the consequent existence of an oasis was the reason why Dadan was able to develop and then become flourishing and rich with trade. An incredible natural beauty not to be missed. Of course, remember to bring water, hat and sunscreen with you. There are excellent photo opportunities both in front of and after a easy climbing up the rock behind the arch. The natural arch is huge, truly spectacular and only the photos we have attached can best describe it. In this area, as happened to us, you won't find anyone and being alone makes the visit even more fascinating. From the parking the arch is just a few minutes walking. Having a powerful 4x4, we went next to the arch, something not to do if you have a normal car because you would get stuck in the sand. From here Rainbow Rock is already visible. After traveling about 6 km you will arrive at an unpaved square well defined by its grayish color where the road ends (GPS: 27.049385, 37.765749). Initially, for about 4 km, the road goes straight towards a rocky area, then bears left to rotate around the rocks themselves. The road has a greyish color which stands out from the ocher yellow of the various tracks created by the 4x4 vehicles. The road is not paved but suitable for all types of cars. On the left (GPS:Ģ7.04670, 37.81886) you will see a stone road sign indicating Rainbow Rock. To reach this spectacular natural arch in the desert, take Route 375 from Al Ula towards Tabuk, From the point where route 375 leaves route 375 (same number) which makes the ring around Al Ula, taking the Tabuk direction, you must proceed north for about 31 km.
A well organized and interesting tour, with very friendly and knowledgeable guides, which in our opinion should be done if you are in Al Ula, remembering however to bring a camera with a good zoom. Although it is not known why ancient people decided to leave their inscriptions here, Jabal Ikmah is also known by the title of “Open Library”. Here there are thousands of ancient inscriptions carved into the mountain. We then left the Dadan site and proceeded by bus until we reached Jabal Ikmah. After a few minutes by bus we stop at the edge of the excavations of the city which, in addition to proceeding slowly, offer very few interesting points for the tourist other than a huge cylindrical basin for water hewn from a single stone visible from far away. The guide provided us with binoculars to observe them and luckily we had a camera with a powerful zoom to take good photos. Unfortunately the Lion tombs of Dadan, the most famous among the tombs present in the region, carved into the rock at a height of 50 m, can only be seen from a long distance. Starting from the 7th century BC, Dadan was an important trading centre along the north–south caravan route of the Incense Road and then in 6th century BC the control over Dadan shifted to the kings of the tribe of Lihyan becoming the capital of Lihyan Kingdom.
After an initial briefing, the site visit took place in two steps moving by bus. This solution is optimal because there are only a few parking spaces in front of the site. Here we got on the bus which took us to the Dadan site in a few minutes. We booked the visit online and, following the instructions, we parked in Winter Park.
We enjoyed and found covenient to use Winter park for both visits. For the visit of Hegra, if you are late or you want to reduce transfer times, there is the possibility of reaching the site directly with your own car in fact in Hegra there is a large parking area. Definitely coming to park your car here when visiting Dadan & Jabal Ikmah is essential because there are very few spaces for cars in front of the Dadan site. Bottles of water are here available at no cost. The staff present here is very kind and helpful and, after registering the reservation, indicates the bus to get on. Here there are also the toilets and a small air-conditioned area where you can check-in and wait for your bus to leave. In the initial part of the car parking there are parked buses that depart on time to the sites to visit. It is a huge unpaved car park that is easy to access north of Al Ula. Winter Park is the car parking indicated in the reservation of both visits to the sites of Hegra and Dadan & Jabal Ikmah.
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