Randi Thomsen

4.50 Norway - 22-Nov-24 -

This is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that I was very excited to visit, located at the edge of the legendary “Empty Quarter.” Desert landscapes have always fascinated me. However, obtaining information in advance about how best to visit the national park proved challenging. I came across a forum thread online that mentioned a permit was required beforehand.

I reached out to NCW, explaining our wish to visit and the date we had planned for the trip. The following day, I received a polite response asking me to send copies of the passports for all visitors. A day later, I received an email confirming our request for permission has been approved, and informing that they had arranged a guided tour for us! 

At the designated day, after our unsuccessful attempt to visit Al Faw, we headed to the Uruq Bani Ranger Station. Here, we were warmly welcomed with tea, Saudi coffee, and dates. Clearly, they were expecting us! After completing the visitor registration, we set out on a tour with a ranger in his jeep.

From the ranger station, several routes into the desert were marked with signs, but it quickly became apparent that «the roads» didn’t last long, and familiarity with the area was essential. We followed the Arabian Oryxtrail, and the ranger, who spoke a little English, explained as best he could.

The landscape was stunning. We saw several large sand dunes, areas with shrubs, and even spotted a gazelle. It is quite common to see gazelles and oryx in the area. We made several stops along the way to take photos.

The ranger then took us to a large sand dune, pulled out a sled, and asked if we wanted to try sliding down. Naturally, as Norwegians and Swiss, we couldn’t say no! However, sledding on sand is, unsurprisingly, much slower than on snow, so it wasn’t particularly successful.

He then took us on a drive up and down the sand dunes, which was a lot of fun. But the real highlight was the scenery—true wilderness as far as the eye could see.

The entire tour lasted about 2.5 hours and was completely free of charge! The ranger didn’t even accept tips, explaining that this was his job and that his greatest wish is for more tourists to discover this unique destination.

Practical Information

• We stayed overnight in Wadi al-Dawasir, which has a few hotels and is about 1.5 hours away.
•  There is also a tented camp within the national park, but it is currently closed. The ranger mentioned that it might reopen soon?
•  Permits can be requested by contacting NCW https://ncw.gov.sa/en/wilds , use contact us
•  To increase your chances of seeing wildlife, consider visiting earlier in the morning than we did.
• The main road is not within the park limit. To enter the core zone, you will need to drive to the ranger station, up the ridge. The exit is marked and can be found on google maps. There are  no «accidentally» way to visit this national park. And for those that give this site a very low rating, you have not done a proper visit, my opinion!

I believe a car is needed to get there