Rijal Almaa: Saudi Arabia's Gingerbread Village

Picture a village of tall stone towers stacked on a green mountainside, painted with bright windows that look like they belong on a gingerbread house. Clouds drift right past the rooftops. Old men walk by wearing crowns of fresh flowers in their hair. This is not a fairy tale. This is Rijal Almaa, a 900-year-old village in the Asir mountains of southwest Saudi Arabia, and September is one of the best times of the year to see it.

While most visitors to Saudi Arabia rush to AlUla or the Red Sea, Rijal Almaa stays quiet, cool, and deeply real. For Saudi National Day month, when people want to celebrate the Kingdom's heritage, there may be no better place to stand. Here is your simple, honest guide to visiting.

Why Rijal Almaa is special

Rijal Almaa sits in the Asir region, about 45 to 50 kilometers west of the mountain city of Abha. The village is made up of around 60 stone forts, some as tall as six or seven floors. The largest of them, Al Elwan Fort, became home to the Rijal Almaa Museum in 1985, the first museum ever set up in Saudi Arabia. Builders used local stone, clay, and wood, and finished the windows with white paint and colorful shutters. From a distance, the whole village really does look like a row of gingerbread houses.

The village is famous for more than its walls. In December 2021, the United Nations World Tourism Organization named Rijal Almaa one of the Best Tourism Villages in the world. It was chosen from among 175 nominations from 75 countries, and Princess Haifa Al Saud, the Assistant Minister of Tourism, received the award in Madrid. The village also sits on the tentative list to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Inside the forts you will find Al-Qatt Al-Asiri, a bright wall-painting art made by local women using bold red, green, yellow, and white patterns. UNESCO inscribed this female art form on its list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2017, calling it a key part of the identity of the Asir region.

There is real history here too. Around 1825, the Asiri tribes gathered in this very village and defeated a large Ottoman force, winning independence for the region for a time. That story of pride fits perfectly with the National Day spirit in September.

The Flower Men and the September festival

The Asir mountains are home to the Flower Men. These are Qahtani tribesmen who wear crowns of marigolds, basil, jasmine, and fenugreek in their hair. The Qahtani people have lived on the foothills of the Asir Mountains for millennia, and their flower crowns are just as old, strung from some of the 2,000 kinds of plants that grow in the region. The flowers are worn for beauty and pride, and some say the herbs help with headaches at high altitude. You may meet Flower Men around the village or at local markets, and buying a fresh flower crown to wear yourself is a fun photo moment.

In past years, Rijal Almaa has hosted a Flowerman Festival in September with folk dances, sword dances, music, a heritage market, Asiri food, and light shows projected onto the old forts. The second edition ran from September 13 to 27. One thing to be honest about: as of early September 2026, confirmed official dates for a 2026 festival had not been announced. The wider Aseer Summer Season runs through the hot months and usually wraps up around the end of August. So please check with Visit Saudi or the Saudi Ministry of Culture before you plan your trip around the festival. Even without it, the village is beautiful and open all year.

The weather in September

This is the big reason to come now. While the rest of Saudi Arabia bakes in the heat, the Asir highlands stay cool. Abha and Rijal Almaa sit high in the mountains, and in September daytime highs are around 30°C and nights drop to about 21°C, with even cooler air on the peaks. Early September can bring light rain and misty clouds that roll through the valleys, which actually makes the village look magical. Bring a light jacket for the evening and a small rain layer just in case.

How to get there

The easiest way is to fly into Abha International Airport (AHB). The low-cost airline flynas flies here often. In September, one-way fares from Riyadh start around SAR 289 (about USD 77), and from Jeddah they can be as low as SAR 179 (about USD 48). The flight from Riyadh takes about 1 hour 40 minutes; from Jeddah it is only about 1 hour 15 minutes.

From Abha, you will need a car. There is no public bus to Rijal Almaa. You can rent a car at the airport or book a driver or a guided tour. The short scenic mountain route is around 45 to 50 kilometers and takes about 1 to 1.5 hours, because the roads twist and climb steeply. There is also a longer, flatter road of about 130 kilometers if you are nervous about the tight mountain bends. Be careful driving in fog or rain, and always keep your fuel topped up, as petrol stations can be far apart.

Tickets and opening hours

Entry to the Rijal Almaa Heritage Village and its museum costs SAR 20 per person (about USD 5.30). You can pay with cash or Apple Pay. Opening hours are usually from around 8 or 9 in the morning until about 8 or 9 at night, but the village closes during prayer times, and hours can change with the season. Plan to spend two to three hours walking the stone lanes, climbing inside the forts, and seeing the Al-Qatt wall art. The museum holds more than 2,800 heritage pieces spread across around 20 sections, including some 500 kilograms of old silver jewellery.

What to eat

You cannot leave Asir without trying haneeth. This is lamb slow-cooked for hours in a covered sand pit called a mahnaz, wrapped in local plants until it falls off the bone, and served over rice. Families often share one big plate and eat with their hands, though you can ask for a spoon. Also try areekah (honeyed bread with ghee), jareesh (crushed wheat porridge), and masoub, a sweet banana-and-bread dish. Wash it down with light, spiced Asiri coffee served with dates.

In the village itself, Almaa Diwaniyah is a lovely spot with heritage decor, and Alqahwa Alsakhria has some of the best views looking over the old town. Back in Abha, Al-Hosn Al-Turathi, set in an old restored stone building in the Al Basta district, is a favourite for the full range of Asiri dishes, and Ali Ramzi Haneeth is loved for its lamb. Asir is famous for its mountain honey, so stop at a honey house on the drive and taste a few kinds.

Where to stay

Most people base themselves in Abha, which has the widest choice of hotels. Budget rooms can start as low as USD 18 to 25 a night, while the well-known 5-star Abha Palace Hotel starts around USD 125. In September, average hotel prices in Abha run somewhere around USD 100 to 150 a night depending on the day. Book early if you travel over the National Day long weekend, when rooms fill up fast.

Make it a bigger trip

Rijal Almaa pairs well with other Asir sights. Nearby is Jabal Sawda (Soudah), Saudi Arabia's highest peak at about 3,015 meters, covered in juniper trees and often wrapped in cloud. There is also Al Habala, the famous hanging village on a cliff, reached by cable car. The Al Habala cable car costs roughly SAR 70 to 80 per person for a return ride (about USD 19 to 21), but it runs seasonally, often only Thursday to Saturday in summer, so check before you go. A separate, longer cable car links the Soudah area to Rijal Almaa, but it is priced per whole cabin at around SAR 550 to 800, so it only makes sense for a group.

One honest note about the future: the government is building a giant luxury mountain resort project called Soudah Peaks in this area, set to add 940 hotel rooms in its first phase alone. It is not open yet, with that first phase due to be finished around 2027. That means you can still see this region raw and quiet today, before the big hotels arrive. In other words, now is the moment to go.

Is it worth it?

Yes. Rijal Almaa is one of the most beautiful and surprising places in the whole Kingdom, and it stays refreshingly uncrowded. Just go in with the right expectations: you need a car, the mountain roads take care, the village closes for prayer, and the festival dates are not always confirmed early. Get those things sorted and you get cool weather, fairy-tale architecture, warm people, and a real taste of Saudi heritage in the perfect month to celebrate it.

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