I stare, first in awe, followed by disbelief. There are massive granite boulders around me, everywhere. Climb these? Heck, no.

But then every time I stand stuck, wondering how to traverse a massive crevice, or slide across a cliff topped with a rock that stood precariously over it, my guide Saeed’s hand would be there. And I’d make it. Higher and higher up the barren Lower Shada till I am looking down at the avalanche of rounded buttery stones till as far as the eye can see. The two accompanying villagers, who call these craggy heights their home, settle down on a sloping plateau. One plays his flute. Just like his ancestors did, and his children maybe will. And I find myself beaming with happiness.

I am deep inside south-west Saudi Arabia, on the Lower Shada [Shada Al-Asfal] in the Sarawat range. The mountain rises over 1,500 metres, filled with 3,000-year-old rock art and entire villages built into its 763 million-year-old caves. Towering next to it is the 2,200-metre-high Upper Shada [Shada Al-A’la], peeping through the clouds. Most of the villagers have now moved to the cities, their cave-homes morphed into holiday-homes or homestays. The prized Shadwi coffee bushes and iridescent flowers continue to grow unfettered in the wilderness.

Come along with me, up the Lower Shada, and let me share with you its incredible breath-taking beauty. Continue reading →