Hail

Elect's take

"Hail is the kind of destination that rewards those with a genuine interest in deep history and dramatic desert landscapes. The rock art at Jubbah is extraordinary — petroglyphs that predate most written history — and the red dunes of the Nefud provide a completely different desert experience from the Gulf coast."

The rock art sites of Jubbah and Shuwaymis, UNESCO World Heritage Sites, contain thousands of petroglyphs carved into sandstone over a period spanning from the Neolithic to relatively recent history, depicting animals including now-extinct species, human figures and inscriptions in ancient scripts that provide an extraordinary window into the deep human history of Arabia. The Nefud Desert surrounding Hail is famous for its dramatic red sand dunes, among the most photogenic desert landscapes in Saudi Arabia. The historic Qishla fortress in the centre of Hail provides insight into the region's Ottoman-era history. The traditional date palm oases of the area produce excellent dates.