What's on in AlUla (Al-'Ula), Saudi Arabia through the year

Peak crowds — AlUla Arts Festival, Winter at Tantora

• Festival

  AlUla Arts Festival

  16 Jan – 14 Feb · usuallyCrowded

  A month of installations and light works through the oasis and the old town, timed for the coldest and clearest weeks. The desert polo and the trail race sit inside the same window. Source ↗

• Holiday

  Ramadan

  18 Feb – 19 MarClosures

  Sites and restaurants move to evening hours through the fast and the old town tours start after iftar. The weather is at its best, so timing is the only real constraint. Source ↗

Still on: Dark-sky season (1 Oct – 31 Mar (usually)), Winter at Tantora (15 Dec – 12 Jan (usually))

Peak crowds — AlUla Arts Festival, Ramadan

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: AlUla Arts Festival (16 Jan – 14 Feb (usually)), Ramadan (18 Feb – 19 Mar), Dark-sky season (1 Oct – 31 Mar (usually))

Busy — Ramadan, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in March.

Still on: Ramadan (18 Feb – 19 Mar), Dark-sky season (1 Oct – 31 Mar (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Festival

  AlUla Skies Festival

  17–26 AprDark-sky seasonBook early

  Ten days of balloon flights over Hegra at dawn and tethered glow nights after dark. Flights sell out weeks ahead and are cancelled outright when the wind gets up. Source ↗

Shoulder season — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in May.

Quiet — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

• Season

  Sites on summer hours

  1 Jun – 15 Sep · usuallyExtreme heat

  Visits move to the first hour after sunrise and to the evening; the middle of the day is spent indoors. The valley is at its emptiest and cheapest for exactly that reason.

Quiet — school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: Sites on summer hours (1 Jun – 15 Sep (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Sites on summer hours (1 Jun – 15 Sep (usually))

Busy — Saudi National Day, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Holiday

  Saudi National Day

  23–24 SepNational holidayClosuresCrowded

  23 September is a public holiday, often joined to a weekend. Government offices close, streets and buildings are lit green, and evening events and fireworks draw families out, with domestic flights and hotels busier around it. Source ↗

Still on: Sites on summer hours (1 Jun – 15 Sep (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Nature

  Dark-sky season

  1 Oct – 31 Mar · usually

  AlUla keeps its skies dark deliberately, and the cool half of the year gives the steady, dust-free nights. Gharameel after moonset is the reason people stay a second night.

Busy — Ancient Kingdoms Festival

• Festival

  Ancient Kingdoms Festival

  20 Nov – 6 Dec · usuallyMajor festivalCrowded

  A fortnight of heritage programming across Hegra, Dadan, Jabal Ikmah and the Old Town, with guided walks, evening shows and art installations built around the Nabataean, Dadanite and Lihyanite kingdoms. Source ↗

Still on: Dark-sky season (1 Oct – 31 Mar (usually))

Peak crowds — Ancient Kingdoms Festival, Winter at Tantora

• Festival

  Winter at Tantora

  15 Dec – 12 Jan · usuallyMusic festivalCrowdedBook early

  The winter concert programme, staged outdoors between the canyon walls over three weeks around the new year. Rooms in the valley are the year's scarcest while it runs. Source ↗

Still on: Dark-sky season (1 Oct – 31 Mar (usually)), Ancient Kingdoms Festival (20 Nov – 6 Dec (usually))