The practice of residents of the Makkah region visiting the Al-Hada district in Taif for a day trip has been going on for years, and has become a kind of tradition with most people living in Makkah, Jeddah and neighboring cities and towns who look to escape the scorching heat and pollution and crave the cool, clean air of Taif. Visitors only stay for a day, driving to Al-Hada early in the morning and returning home late at night. Sitting at the altitude of 2,000 meters, Al-Hada is a little town located within the Taif area and is one of the Kingdom's most famous summer destinations. Geographically the town is well within the reach of residents of Jeddah and Makkah, located approximately 20 kilometers north-west of Taif, 67 kilometers east of Makkah and 135 kilometers east of Jeddah. Adnan Abdulaziz is the manager of a five star hotel in Al-Hada and a member of the Taif Tourism and Antiquities Authority, and he remarked that he has seen a rather recent upsurge in visitors from Makkah and Jeddah visiting the town for just a day. “It is 48 degrees centigrade in Makkah, while it is only 23 or 24 degrees in Al-Hada during the day and even lower at night, so obviously a large number of people really enjoy that,” he remarked. “It is only a 40-minute drive to Al-Hada from Makkah. I visited with my family last week and we really enjoyed the cool weather, but it does get chilly at night,” Mohammed Al-Sharaabi, a resident of Makkah, told Saudi Gazette. “It was so cold, my wife was afraid of changing our baby's diaper, because of exposure to the cold!” He added that many people visit Al-Hada late and then stay until the Fajr prayers, but the town is always crowded by visitors. Despite such popularity however, the town does not offer basic amenities like public toilets to tourists and he stressed the need for town authorities to focus on providing such facilities. Tourism boom Booming tourism has meant that many now see Al-Hada as a lucrative place to set up a business. An English teacher from Makkah: Abdul Haleem Al-Bargawi, told Saudi Gazette that he was interested in buying land or an istraha (rest house) in Al-Hada and opening it for business. Another visitor, Bard Abdrabu, a dental technician said: “I am thinking of opening an outlet to sell food. A huge number of people visit Al-Hada and they are willing to pay a lot of money for all kinds of food. You can see tourists queuing at the restaurants!” Abdulhaq Aziz is an accountant in one of the restaurants in Al-Hada and he told Saudi Gazette that he was astonished to find that people from cosmopolitan cities like Jeddah did not display any kind of impatience while waiting for their orders. In fact, many are so happy to be in the city, that they leave all their ‘city habits' at home and wait patiently. What's there to do? Despite the attention paid to the Al-Nagba Al-Hamra garden and the green mountain, Al-Hada also offers a lot to do for those looking to just relax. The town's streets offer an interesting collection of wares for shoppers and the opportunity to have specially-brewed tea and coffee with the locals. Taif is renowned for grapes and honey, but Al-Hada offers a dazzling array of exotic and delicious fruit like limes, apricots, figs, peaches, pomegranates, watermelons, quince, grapes, almonds and dates. The most famous, however, is the locally-grown barshoomi, which grows on the mountains of Al-Hada and Al-Shafa. Children will also not get bored with the opportunity to ride camels and horses as well as enjoy views of the mountains and surrounding scenery while riding the cable cars. Taif is also known for its large population of baboons and Al-Hada will not disappoint enthusiasts of these mischievous but friendly animals.
