Oct 9, 20212 min read

WATHILAN NATIONAL PARK, RIYADH

Updated: Aug 22, 2022

Eighty kilometers of meandering dry river valley offers adventure interests from camping, picnicking, mountain biking, off-road driving, forest exploring, cliff climbing, and sightseeing. Driving for an hour and 15 minutes with a distance of 115 kilometers from the city center of Riyadh will bring you to a place where the perennial desert trees, shrubs, seasonal grasses and plants, unique rock formations, and cliff walls, and mountain ridges. Different birds fly all over, and chirping as they perch on the trees will complete your journey to a nature-communing place.

Wathilan National Park stretches from Muzahamiyah to the west and ends in the Ad Dilam area, where the lowest level of the dry river valley ends.

Best Timing of Visits

In the average cyclical period in Riyadh, October to February is the best season to visit. Rainfalls occurred during the winter and spring seasons. The fields covered with grasses are only after the rains, and the forest green color is much defined after the rain waters had cleansed the tree leaves, and wildflowers are blooming around.

What to Expect

Forest areas at the river valley
Arcs and other formations or rocks
Driving in an open desert area on your way and back from the city center
No gas station near the location
No Mobile phone and Internet signal at the location
Sudden sandstorm
Substantial wind velocity sometimes on the way to the place.

Car Requirement

4x4 car is much recommended but not necessarily
High Clearance

Park Opening

Wathilan Park opens from 6:00 AM and closes at 6:00 PM also.

Overnight camping during the rainy or winter season is not advisable because of the unexpected occurrence of floods caused by the rainfall from the upper areas where the water flows through the river valley of the park.

There are elevated portions outside the park where you can settle for camping if you intend to do an overnight stay to catch the first break of the lights in the morning.