The escarpment is spectacular in its own right and the Tanumah Valley home to a lush green environment and frequent springs that provide irrigation for the small farms and homesteads that dot the valley.

By geological happenstance and Saudi Arabia’s good fortune, a particularly tough metamorphic rock (one changed by extreme heat and pressure heat from one type of rock to another) intrudes the sandstone country rock in Ash Sharrraf Park and provides in the spectacular surroundings an equally spectacular challenge; climbing.

The climbing pitches are well away from the main park area and the adventurous climber is faced with the solitude for the concentration needed to pursue his sport.

The area is characterized by the extremely rugged rocky scenery with sheer faces (some up to 1,300 meters high and overlooking the Tihama) that can be accessed on foot and some by road. The gneiss makes for grippy and clean climbing and adds a lighter glistening foil to the generally darker sandstone in penetrates. Massive boulders, ragged clefts and free standing pinnacles all combine to make the area one of the most unusual scenic areas and probably the very best climbing destination in the Kingdom.

Egyptian vultures circle the area nesting high in the rocks and scavenging when they can if the competing ground forces of baboons have not gotten to the food first. The heady mix of thin air, spectacular scenery, more in the character of the Mediterranean than peninsula desert, and vibrant wildlife is hard to beat and provides a photographer with a myriad of opportunities.

Perched on the very edge of an escarpment with the best view any bedroom window in Saudi Arabia can offer is a clean, modern though simply fitted out hotel. It is an ideal spot to abandon the car and wander the hills in isolation.

One note of caution; it is one of the very few places in the Kingdom when it is good advice to carry a light waterproof Kagool and to be aware of mist and cloud closing in and obscuring landmarks and tracks. A couple of thousand meters up an escarpment is no place to be if you are caught unawares!

Something of a local secret, Ash Sharraf Park is a special weekend away.