Погода: Эт-Таиф, декабрь

December is the month Makkah regulars name for weather: warm to hot through the middle of the day, cooling from Asr onwards, and genuinely pleasant all night and into Fajr. Our row's 29.1C day against a 17.9C night is that daily arc in two numbers. The practical consequence they draw is to move the tawaf off the midday hours, particularly with children, because marble and open sun together are more than the air temperature suggests. The cost of the good weather is company: December and January are the busiest of the year, with Western and school holidays landing together, higher prices and a full Haram - the hours either side of Fajr are the quietest part, though nobody calls them quiet. The record: 2.5 precipitation days carrying 17.6mm, humidity 57 percent, 9.7 hours of sun and AQI 140.

Forum posters visiting the Shafa Mountains resort area just outside Taif describe genuinely pleasant conditions around 25C in summer, one reviewer specifically surprised to encounter rain during what's normally thought of as the hot season - a real reflection of the resort's roughly 2500m elevation rather than Taif city itself, which sits considerably lower and runs noticeably hotter. Posters describe Taif proper as a traditional summer retreat precisely because it's cooler than lowland Mecca and Jeddah, known for its rose gardens and perfume industry. Posters note the Shafa area specifically gets very congested with visitors in summer given how sought-after its cooler air is. Posters generally rate August as warm in Taif city itself but genuinely cool and occasionally rainy up in the nearby Shafa Mountains, the elevation difference between the two a real factor worth understanding before planning a visit.

Forum posters consistently describe Taif as noticeably cooler than nearby Mecca and Jeddah thanks to its mountain elevation - around 25C is the typical figure cited, with winter (February included) named as a comfortable time to visit precisely because summer brings crowds escaping the heat of the lowlands. Posters do warn that direct sun inside a parked car can still get surprisingly hot even on a mild day, and that fog can roll in suddenly on the escarpment roads and cut visibility fast. Al Hada Mountain's cable car and the surrounding rose fields (Taif is nicknamed the City of Roses) are the most recommended stops, and February specifically is called a quieter time to visit versus the congested summer high season.