Edge of the world in the Saudi-Arabian desert, is a place 100km away from the capital Riyadh.
When visiting or thinking about Saudi-Arabia you know already, there is a lot of desert! I traveled a few months after the opening of the country to Riyadh, in January 2020, right before the pandemic. Is it worth visiting this remote place?
What is the Edge of the world?
Jebel Fihrayn or as everyone calls it, the Edge of the world, is famous in the country.
It is a place in the desert, out of the sudden a 300-meter-high cliff appears. When looking down, you will see nothing, then just plain desert, nothing else in the distance, just a plain landscape!
You can spot dried out rivers all over and not many people, at least when I was there, almost nobody was there.
How to get there?
The hardest question, due to the fact that this place is right in nowhere. Basically nothing is around! There are two options, renting a car or taking a tour. No public transportations will be found going to this place! Luckily I met a guy from the Netherlands, who was driving from the Netherlands to Riyadh and wanted to drive there. He and his friend took me with them.
After being outside of the capital and passing a few little tours, it was time for going off road. It was good that the car was an off-road vehicle! The road was obviously really bad. Along the road, there were a few rivers that needed to be crossed. Also many camels were passing the way.
During the day it was quite easy, but when we left it got dark. With the help of locals, it was possible to leave the place. Without the help it would have been tricky, no lights on the road and no street as well. With much light and a car in front, it was possible to exit again. We stayed for the sunset, because that was something popular to see.
When is the best travel time?
The best time to travel to Saudi-Arabia and all other countries in the Middle East is around the winter, so between November and February. Of course during October and March it should still be okay.
Don’t go in summer, when the average temperature is above 40 degrees. That is no longer easy to handle. When already locals are suffering during those periods, then you can believe that it would not be a smart idea.
I was there in January, during this time it was still warm, but not a temperature where you don’t want to go outside. To cool down, many people are going into the malls, because they have air conditioning.
How was it?
Before going, I didn’t know what to expect. My friend from the Netherlands was just asking if I wanted to join. I didn’t have other plans, so it was perfect doing something!
During the ride, the excitement was high, after seeing the first camels on the way. Generally speaking the ride was a lot of fun. Being surrounded by great people and doing some off road, is always great!
When being in the desert I felt really good, due to my one experience in Wadi Rum, in Jordan. We arrived and were standing there, nobody said anything. There was pure silence. You were not able to hear anything, besides the wind. It was perfect, mysterious and weird. Hard to describe, you are just being in nature, looking into a landscape full of nothing and hearing the same.
It looked amazing and brought back some memories. After being there for quite a bit of a time, a different car came. It was a local tour guide, with two travelers. He invited us to have tea and some dates with them. The arabian tea was served of course with a lot of sugar, but it was just really tasty. We set down, while the run slowly began to go down. Having many great talks, while learning about the country.
On the way back, it was tricky, like explained earlier, but with the tour guide we made it safely outside, back on the right track.
Summary
The edge of the world in Saudi-Arabia is a special place. Covered in silence and being out of nowhere I understand why people gave this place this nickname. It is honestly not easy to reach and you need to use half of the day at least, so when not having time, maybe you should consider exploring the capital.
With prices for the tour for a single person, being around $130-160 it is not the cheapest tour. You need to consider for yourself if you want to spend your money on this. I will not say you need to do it.
For me it was a great experience, but everyone is liking different stuff. Deserts are a special place for me, so that is why I am hyped about trips there. I know many people who are thinking the opposite about it. From the pictures and the summary, you can choose for yourself.
I would love to hear your experiences about this place, or questions. Share it with me in the comments.
Saudi-Arabia Stories: Edge of the world – Saudi Arabia desert
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