Hegra (Mada’in Salih)

Tickets and tours: all the options

Hegra cannot be visited on your own. Entry is only by guided tour sold through Experience AlUla, the official tourism platform, with a choice of time slots during the day. The standard version uses buses that drive between the main tomb groups, with a guide at each stop. Premium options use small vintage open vehicles or private hosts and cost more. Tickets often sell out at weekends and in the winter season, so book a few days ahead.

The tours sold on GetYourGuide are packages built around these visits. Some cover Hegra alone, with entry and transport from your hotel; others combine it with AlUla Old Town, Elephant Rock, the ancient city of Dadan and the inscriptions of Jabal Ikmah for a full day. There are also nature and wildlife drives, photography tours, sunset visits, family tours and balloon flights over the valley at sunrise, as well as long day trips from Medina and organised trips from Jeddah.

For a first visit, the standard guided tour is enough to see the main tombs; add Dadan and Jabal Ikmah on the same day if you have only one full day in AlUla.

A short history

Inscriptions in the Lihyanite script on nearby rocks show settlement by the 3rd or 2nd century BC, when the oasis lay on the incense route. The Nabataeans developed it in the 1st century AD under King Aretas IV, making it the southern centre of their kingdom, with wells, farms and monumental tombs. In AD 106 Rome annexed the kingdom, and Hegra became part of the province of Arabia, with a Roman garrison and inscriptions in Greek and Latin. Later the site was largely abandoned and gained a reputation as a cursed place linked to the people of Thamud in the Quran. In 2008 it became Saudi Arabia's first UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Getting there

Hegra lies about 20 km north of the town of AlUla in north-west Saudi Arabia. AlUla International Airport has flights from Riyadh and Jeddah and some seasonal international routes; taxis and hire cars are available on arrival. Most tours start from the official visitor centre, where you check in before boarding the tour bus into the site; it is about 30 minutes by car from the town centre. Without a car, use a taxi or the shuttle services run during the winter season, and ask about transfers when booking. From Medina the drive takes about four hours. There is parking at the visitor centre.

Rules and what to bring

Touching or climbing the tomb facades is forbidden, and visitors must stay with the guide and on the marked paths. Drones are not allowed without a permit. Dress modestly, with shoulders and knees covered, and bring a hat, sunglasses, sunscreen and water, especially outside winter. Wear closed shoes for sand and rock. The visitor centre has toilets, a cafe and shade; there are no facilities inside the site between stops.

When to go

The best months are October to March, when days are warm and sunny and nights in the desert can be cold. This is also the main season, when AlUla hosts winter festivals and concerts, and the most popular tour times, early morning and late afternoon, sell out first.

From May to September midday temperatures often pass 40 degrees, and tours are fewer and shorter. Early morning gives soft light on the tombs and cooler air. The late afternoon slot ends in golden light on the sandstone, which is the best time for photographs. Weekends, especially Friday and Saturday, are busier with Saudi visitors. During Ramadan tour times may change. Allow about three hours for the tour and transfers, and a full day if you add Dadan and Jabal Ikmah.