World Economic Forum 2025

AlUla County is home to with a lush oasis valley, towering sandstone mountains and cultural heritage sites dating back thousands of years to when the Lihyanite, Dadanite and Nabataean kingdoms reigned.

The best-known site in AlUla is Hegra, inscribed in 2008 as Saudi Arabia’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site. Hegra was the principal southern city of the Nabataean Kingdom and includes 111 well-preserved tombs, many with elaborate facades cut out of the sandstone outcrops that surrounded the walled urban settlement. AlUla's rich cultural heritage encompasses 200,000 years of human history, making it one of the most significant archaeological areas in the world. AlUla was home to diverse civilisations that created the monumental tombs of Hegra, the maze of streets in AlUla Old Town and the legacy of Jabal Ikmah, an open-air library that contains hundreds of ancient inscriptions and is inscribed in UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register.

AlUla County also features incredible natural heritage. Native species of flora and fauna are being returned to conserved habitats in AlUla County as part of a grassroots-to-apex conservation approach that will one day return the Arabian Leopard to the wilds of north-west Arabia.

Today AlUla is a growing community of around 60,000 people – men, women, and families who have lived in AlUla for generations, who share deep roots and close bonds that connect them with the land and its future.