Taif and its towering peaks, deep in the majestic Sarawat Mountains, are a meeting point of tourism and leisure and a gateway between Tihama and the Sarat highlands in summer. The weather data and rainfall records speak for themselves: Taif is known for its fresh air that keeps the heat away and welcomes showers of rain, giving visitors an ideal cool climate for rest and recreation.
The paved mountain roads of Al Hada and Al Shafa, including the Al Kar and Al Mohammadiyah passes, make it easy to encounter the area's biodiversity, striking terrain and panoramic views over old villages whose stone houses stand on the mountain's edge. In summer, these passes and their serpentine roads combine many stunning natural sights as they cut through a series of magnificent mountain ranges, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
There are also the natural valleys whose gentle waters flow down toward Tihama Makkah and its ravines, letting travelers on the road watch the living scenery and enjoy the water trickling between the granite rocks of the mountains. This variety creates captivating scenes that add creative touches to the enchanting landscape, delighting travelers, photographers and bloggers.
Up close, visitors notice that the Al Mohammadiyah pass and Kara Al Hada, located in the Sarawat Mountains, have hosted since time immemorial a range of formations that are dazzling works of art and a diverse tourist destination, with their views over old villages that breathe the air of the past. In the eyes of many visitors, these two passes have become a gateway through which the mild climate flows to Taif and its exceptional summer.
Their beauty draws streams of tourists to enjoy the parks and gardens stretching from the Al Mohammadiyah pass road to the Al Shafa and Al Hada centers, Jabal Daka and Qarnit. The two passes offer exciting adventures such as mountain climbing, hiking, camping and exploring the fragrant aromatic plants and the wildlife that springs from the land.
They encourage young people and families to come from early morning until just before sunset, to linger under the shady juniper trees and beside cool, fresh streams that bring to the contemplative mind the beauty of Taif's unique, pristine natural diversity, as well as the harmonious interplay of greenery and rock formations that soften and highlight the features of the Tihama valleys. The two passes are surrounded by many tourist sites, homes, hotels and resorts built from this fertile land and carrying the culture of its people, a clear message of the authenticity of Taif's identity and heritage to the wider horizon and the whole world, including the Golden White Hotel, Ekleel Al Jabal Resorts, Bait Al Ward, Reef Jabal Daka, the Taif rose gardens and others.
The Al Hada and Al Shafa highlands of Taif enjoy a mild climate in summer and a cold one in winter, thanks to their strategic location on Jabal Ghazwan, part of the Sarawat range known locally as "Al Sarat," which rises about 2,560 m above sea level, with average temperatures ranging between 15 and 20 degrees Celsius.
The distinctive Al Mohammadiyah pass of Al Shafa and the Al Hada pass are tourist destinations linking two different centers under the headings of tourism, nature and leisure, through which Taif contributes to many development opportunities in all fields and eases the movement of citizens and residents for trade, travel and tourism. They are development arteries that shortened distances and linked the Sarat highlands with Tihama after cutting through the mountains, boosting the pace of development in its economic, agricultural and urban aspects.
To view the report on the Saudi Press Agency website, click here.
