Al-Waba Crater in Medina

Not only is the crater very impressive but being able to camp overnight, see the stars and wake up to a glorious sunrise was the best. The visitor centre was closed but there was a very informative man who helped us with some understanding. Apparently two people died recently after descending into the crater for a closer look, only to succumb to gases. The view from the top was spectacular enough for us 😉

Great place, have history but administration can do better arrangements and management to promote this bistorical place for tourism

Nice place.Every one must see this place.No shops, groceries near the place, take with you, water and other things when you go there to visit this area.

Absolutely stunning view.. There is one Pakistani security guard who suggest you to not to cross the wall coz there is a fine if authority catch you and most importantly, it is very dangerous place indeed. Couple of years ago few local guys fell from the mountain ⛰️ 😳 and died right away. Better not to cross that wall. If youre willing to go down there then you need get permission from Ministry of Tourism of KSA. I strongly suggest people who have breathing problems dont go coz there is less oxygen down there. Right at the centre is sodium phosphate (salt).

An Amazing place but lack of facilities. When ever you plan to go there arrange water, food by yourself before traveling there.

If you like hiking and happens to be nearby Jeddah or Taif, please do visit this old volcanic crater! Had an amazing time hiking this crater! In the picture, you can see us as small dots when photographed from the top!

Beautiful place, free to enter but you cannot go down to the crater. It has a few shaded spots perfect for picnic.

After the drive from Jeddah, we parked in the carpark and walked to the edge to take photos. The crater is very impressive in person! I had thought I would be upset that you can no longer walk down into it but I didnt actually feel a need to do that when I saw how steep the sides are and how far down it is. I was quite happy to walk around the edge of the crater. We then set off driving to the right of the carpark around the crater where you could see car tracks until we got close to opposite the car park but further back from the edge. We set up camp for the night on the flat areas here close to the lava fields. Note the ground is quite hard so you need good pegs! The lava fields themselves are also very interesting with lots of fissures and flow marks created when the lava cooled and set. The next day, when we drove out, the helpful person who is based on site let us put our rubbish there.

Nice place. You can camp around the crater, but like someone mentioned after two young men died there , its no longer allowed to track down the crater. If you want to go all the way down, you have to take permission from Ministry Tourism in Taif, and also medically fit to do the track. There is also a kind watchman who minds the place, and lets you use his restroom. Nice experience if you like starry night.

A quiet and beautiful place. We were the only people there for sunset. The local police came to check on us to make sure we were ok or if we needed anything, and we chatted. They asked what country we were from :We ended up camping nearby. There were some cute local dogs that played near our campsite at night but they were friendly and happy and never caused mischief.

Very scenic crater! Unfortunately the trail was closed, patrol car told us there were some deaths in the past few days. Visitor center and toilets are also closed. We walked part of the way around the crater towards the trailhead, left of the car park.

Beautiful place. Too bad visitors center closed today.

Super crater, worth the drive. Takes 2 hours to walk around. There is not a footpath but you can find your way. Can camp here.

This a peaceful and beautiful placeSilent and windy at nightAs well as a great place to spend time with starsA wonderful place for photographersRecommended to have your groceries before you a head to a Grater

Great place, can be windy at times makes it difficult for hiking. The hike point is on the left of main parking spot.

Really great place! But this should be maintained. There are literally a lot of littered plastic bottles along the trail. I hope the tourists will be responsible when traveling too. Plus have caution when hiking because we’ve seen a snake along the way. Who knows how many are in there.

Worth seeing this magnificient natural wonders🤩. Love to go back and to visit again. Inshallah🤗

An amazing view... Experience sunrise here.. Hoping to comeback and have a trek down..

Awesome place to visit. View point is available to have a view of this beautiful crater. You can go down to click pics but mind your foot, the small stones are slippery. Make sure to wear a good shoe. Localites say its not volcanic crater, but formed by s falling meteor.

Nicely managed place can be visited by family but during day time as its in very remote area, better to visit in groups

Perfect…I guess it’s more fun to visit during winter time because it’s so hot to go down to see the bottom of the crater…the sunrise was perfect!!!

Natures beauty. Visiting this place second time in 4 years. Visited while returning from Taif and spent around couple of hours. Its worth to visit this place while in Saudi.

The location is awesome for taking photos, spending few hours or camping, but you should bring your needs with you cos no any services out there, no toilets, no water, nothing available..You can go there by normal sedan car, no need for SUV

A must visit in your lifetime. This is a volcanic crater, about 820ft deep, that white patch you see at the bottom is sodium phosphate.A big NO on taking kids here. No to aged people as well. If you have breathing issues No. you must be perfectly healthy to do this trek.We visited in the month of June, which is summer.We started early morning at 3am from Taif. Reached by 6am. We started climbing down by 6.30 and reached at the bottom at 7.30. By 8am we started climbing back and reached at the top by 9.Well climbing back was difficult as at the bottom there is really less oxygen and you have to breath heavy. Based on my experience reach there early morning be by 5 and start trekking.Remember there is no shops are houses around for any assistance or medical help. So carry lots of water.

If you live in Saudi Arabia, you should come at least once to this wonderful place. Here you can practice a great meditation session and connect with nature. Great place for photography 👌

Its a good view from up here.Not that much crowded most of the time.If anyone interested in some adventure take a walk to the down...its only like 2km in one way....and its worth it....

A great hiking location and stargazing. For beginners the hike down will take almost an hour and 2 hours climbing upIf the wind is hard, you can camp between the close by lava rocks

Natures wonder - Good Road. We can go easily by car. 4X4 is not mandatory. Parking available. Better to reach early morning for hiking. Keep water bottles and snacks, juices for hiking. Best time early morning for going down with good shoes for balance.

Priceless Hapiness for all!!! One of a kind amazing locations, about 700 NW of Riyadh - KSA. Unforgettable Lifelong memories and experience in KSA Deserts and worth visiting...Perfect spot for Challenging Hiking Adventures (Endurance Level:General Fitness), Lava Field Touring, Semi Precious Oxydions/ Peridions Stones Hunting and Peaceful Camping Site.

One of the most interesting natural places in Saudi Arabia, you must descend to see the crystallized salt flats on the bottom of the creator.It will take you approximately 30-45 minutes to descend the crater and double of that to ascend it.It is also known locally as “Makla Tamya” originated from a folklore story.

amazing place, Saudi Arabia has a lot to offer in terms of natures beauty and very safe place to travel.

Very beautifull and worth the long drive, also a intresting hike down into the crater to view the crystals upclose. Remember water and snaks as there is no shop closeby

Very beautifull and a nice place to hike, its a bit far to drive but worth it. Remember to take lost of water and some snacks as there is no shop closeby.

Al-Waba Crater is a “Must See” tourist spot in Saudi Arabia. It has an Amazing view, an Amazing Sun-Rise (Don’t miss it), an Amazing downward hike, smooth crater surface and an amazing challenge climbing back out of the Crater. I encourage everyone to visit this place once in your life. Lastly, keep the Crater cleaner than when you arrived. Keep Saudi sites crystal clean so everyone can enjoy and appreciate its beauty. So, Pick up your trash and dispose of it properly outside the Crater. Thank you for Keeping KSA clean 😊

One of the most amazing place in Saudi Arabia. It’s around 220+ kilometers away from the city of taif. 2:30 hours drive from taif. Good time to visit is early morning or late afternoon. Possible to hike down to the center. It took 1:30 minutes to go down and come back, so plan your timing accordingly if you have plans to hiking. Bring your own food and drinks because nothing available.

Wonderful moments we had there. Must go destination for those who loves adventures and trekking. Great challenge to reach the ground level of the Crater.

so the story goes like this, on a rainy day alwaba الوعبة saw a mountain named Qutun قطن between Buraida (alQasimand alMadina, and fell in love. When she decided to jump to him; another mountain (some stories say her cousingot jealous and threw a spear to prevent her from moving to Qutun .. and she stayed there! whether you are a romantic to believe this or more scientific to explore the sodium phosphate of the volcanic crystals or nature adrenaline freak like me; alwaba has it all! I went there in February 2019 and never been the same since then. The crater was the best hiking I had that year, it took me 2 hours to descend down and up 250m; intense exercise indeed but totally worth it! Just finish the climb before the night falls in for it’s pitch dark which is perfect for stargazing! :D

Excellent place, well worth it, just make sure you take plenty of water with you for your climb back up. Takes about 30mins to get down and about 45 mins to get back up. But please take your litter with you as some selfish people litter this beautiful place

Travel together to this location, Seems like small but it is really huge. Those who are really strong from heart can go down to the surface rest of them can enjoy the beauty of a wide crater from the top. Worth place to camp and see the glittering stars at night👌🏻

Very cool place to have a day trip and get out of busy cities. Super quiet, perfect to relax. You can hike down to the crater, it took us 30min down and 45min to come back (bring plenty of water!).Worth it a visit but be aware it’s in the middle of nowhere and there’s not much to do there a part from the crater. (There are lava fields nearby and that’s it)

An absolutely stunning place. Easily in top 5 places Ive seen to this date. At the entrance, there are a few camping gazebos with marvellous view. The hike down has a well maintained path, but has challenging spots, so be careful. Well worth the visit, especially the other side with a little oasis, which seems like a paradise garden. The neighboring lava fields are awesome too.

Incredible place to visit in saudi and perfect place to so camp and hikeSome random points- Just follow the google map navigation- plan to reach there before the night enjoy the view and choose your camping place- camping in the night- In early morning, start you hike down to the crater- Make sure you bring enough food and water supplyDoesn’t need actually 4*4 car- The hiking trail is on the left side from the main spot- its windy place most of the time so be prepared

The place is beautiful, the view is impressive, going dow and up again takes around 3 hours, but if you want to enjoy some time down in the crater count at least with 4, 5 hours. In order to reach the crater there is a small path from up to down. The path makes zigzag and could be a little bit dangerous for some. In our case, we did picnic and after that we did the hiking to the center of the crater.

What a beauty this place was! We were in KSA for Umrah and took a detour while driving from Makkah to Madinah to reach this spot. It was absolutely stunning. We could not find a way which leads to the bottom of crater. We drove around the crater in the car and got stuck a few times as the drive around the crater is definitely for a 4x4 with a significant amount of ground clearance while we were on a Camry 😛. So yeah car is not recommended at all! We’ll definitely go there next time InshaALLAH and will trek to the bottom too. Highly recommended for people visiting Saudi.

Absolute stunning volcanic crator to visit. Errupted thousands of years ago but amazing view and nature scenes around. A one hour climb down into the crator to see the salty bottom and climb back out in another our through a absolute magnificent valley that looks like a Tropical Island and oasis in the desert. Also visit the lawa field 1 km away and see the molten and now stoned lawa of thousands of years ago. Pick up some precious green & black stones "peridium" and "oxidian"

Amazing experience. The main path for hiking down apparently starts by the hut on the left far side (which might be easier). However we took the oasis route that starts on the opposite end of the road-end of the crater. To get there turn left before reaching the parking onto a rough track. It skirts around the mountain to the other side of the crater. Stop where you see the first palm trees and start descent from there. It requires some scrambling in one or two places. Walking on the salt feels crunchy in the beginning but as you go further in your feet start to sink in so I turned back.Take lots and lots of water. It can get very hot and you can drink whole bottles in one go. Keep as much as you can.The lava flow on the opposite end is also a great sight.

very nice hike. Take the north passage for a safe descent. Take enough water 1l / h / person and dates. The landscape is beautiful from below as from above

A great hike, follow the path to the left of the main entrance or hike down the cliffs.A good extra bit to do is the lava field that is directly across the crater.

Waabah crater is a volcanic crater. Can find more details on wiki.It is very beautiful and amazing place. Nice view from the top.Government is doing lot of improvements around the crater. They are constructing cottages where people can rest. Also there is restaurant coming up.Be there early by 7 AM as you need to trek down and it is very hectic. and start climbing before 3:30 PM as you need at least 1 to 2 hours to come up. Once it become dark it is really not advisable to trek as it is very narrow and risky.Do carry lot of water and food along with you as you will not find any shops or restaurants to buy.

It is an amazing place to visit in Saudi Arabia, we reached there around 2.30 pm on a very hot day but we did not feel tired because of mesmerising view of the crater. This place is a great place for adventurous tour, not a good place for small kids.