Syn: Travel Edit
AlUla, Saudi Arabia
The destination you have not been to yet but will not stop thinking about once you go.
AlUla is not a city. It is not a resort. It is not a wellness retreat, though it will make you feel better than most of them do.
It is a 200,000-year-old landscape in the northwest of Saudi Arabia : rose-gold sandstone formations, ancient Nabataean tombs carved directly into rock faces, a winter sky so clear it feels like a different atmosphere entirely.
It is where Hegra sits: Saudi Arabia's first UNESCO World Heritage Site, older than Petra, less visited, more extraordinary.
The Saudi government is developing it carefully and intentionally as a cultural tourism destination under Vision 2030: which means right now, in 2026, it still feels like somewhere you discovered rather than somewhere everyone has been. Go between October and March.
Where to stay
Habitas AlUla , Banyan Tree AlUla
What to do
Hegra at sunrise
The Maraya Concert Hall
Dadan
Hot air balloon at dawn
The old town of AlUla