AlUla, The World’s Masterpiece, is one of the oldest cities in the Arabian Peninsula and home to Hegra, a UNESCO World Heritage site. 

A land rich in historical, geological and geographical significance, this ancient city, once at the crossroads of The Silk Road and The Incense Route, has only recently been re-discovered by the world.

AlUla is a place of extraordinary human and natural heritage.

We invite you to come journey through a living museum of preserved tombs, sandstone outcrops, historic dwellings and monuments, both natural and human-made, that hold 200,000 years of largely unexplored human history. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has long been a crossroads of ancient civilizations — a place of deep history, but one that is constantly evolving. AlUla is an extraordinary example of this and you can soon help write the next pages of its history.

For thousands of years, northwest Saudi Arabia attracted people who came to take advantage of the abundant resources offered by its fertile oases.

AlUla was one of them, and became a vital crossroads along the famous incense-trading routes running from southern Arabia north into Egypt and beyond. With oases dotting the area, it offered a much-needed respite for weary travelers, becoming a popular place to rest, commune and recharge.

AlUla was also capital of the ancient kingdoms of Dadan and Lihyan, which controlled the caravan trade. The site of Hegra was the principal southern city of the Nabataean kingdom, famed for its spectacular monumental tombs. Today, Old Town AlUla is an abandoned labyrinth of streets tightly packed to create a defensive wall, and seemingly built over an ancient settlement.

This largely undiscovered expanse holds a timeless mystery that has been carried through its complex history. Layer upon layer of human history and a wealth of natural wonders are waiting to be explored from dramatic rock formations and sand-swept dunes to archaeological ruins that trace the lives of the ancient cultures who built cities here.

Soon, this land will be yours to discover.

The World’s Masterpiece | Experience AlUla

Fotos: Copyright Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU)