Al Hawiyah travel guide
Taif University town, near Ta'if's roses and mountain roads
Al Hawiyah is a residential town next to Ta'if, home to Taif University's main campus and close to Ta'if's airport. It works as a quiet base for the rose farms and the mountain roads to Al Hada and Al Shafa. April to September is the main season; one or two days is plenty. Prices are high, and many passports qualify for the tourist eVisa.
Al Hawiyah is a fast-growing town about 15 km from Ta'if, in the highlands of Makkah Province. Not long ago it was a small suburb; now it covers some 80 square km across more than 15 residential districts, with government offices and the main campus of Taif University.
Few travellers come for the town itself. It works as a quieter base than central Ta'if, close to Ta'if's airport. The highland air is also far kinder than the summer heat of Jeddah or Makkah. Rose farms around Ta'if, the mountain roads up to Al Hada and Al Shafa, and Souq Okaz are all within easy reach.
For a longer day out, Al-Wahbah crater lies about 214 km away, a huge volcanic hollow with a white salt floor in the lava fields to the north-east.
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Top things to do in Al Hawiyah
Highland weather and easy trips to Ta'if's rose farms and mountain roads.
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Best time to visit Al Hawiyah
Month by month, so you can pick the weather and the crowds you want.
Mild by Saudi standards; spring brings the rose harvest, summer the visitors from the hot cities.
Cool days and cold nights in the highlands.
Ta'if's roses are picked in spring, and summer weekends bring heavy traffic on the mountain roads to Al Hada and Al Shafa.
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Getting there
Ta'if airport, Jeddah and the escarpment road
Ta'if's airport (TIF) sits right beside Al Hawiyah, so the drive from the terminal to most districts is a matter of minutes by taxi or ride-hailing car. Its schedule is mainly domestic, with Riyadh the busiest route. Most international visitors land instead at King Abdulaziz International in Jeddah (JED) and drive up into the highlands, roughly two to three hours depending on the route and traffic. That choice of route matters. The direct climb over Al Hada passes close to Makkah, and the city's sacred zone is closed to non-Muslims, who must follow the signposted roads that bypass it; ask your rental company or driver which way they will go. SAPTCO intercity coaches also run to Ta'if from Jeddah and Riyadh, finishing in the city rather than in Al Hawiyah, so budget a short taxi ride at the end.
- Ta'if airport (TIF)
- Next to Al Hawiyah, minutes by taxi
- Jeddah airport (JED)
- Car or driver, about two to three hours
- Coach
- SAPTCO to Ta'if from Jeddah and Riyadh, then taxi
- Non-Muslims should confirm before setting off that the route from Jeddah avoids Makkah's restricted area.
Getting around
Careem into Ta'if, a rental for the Al Hada road
Public transport is no help here. Within Al Hawiyah and into central Ta'if, about 15 km away, Uber and Careem are the easy option and the ride into town takes around 20 minutes outside rush hour. For the mountains you want your own wheels: the Al Hada road climbs west of Ta'if to the escarpment edge, and Al Shafa lies to the south, each roughly under an hour from Al Hawiyah. The roads are well surfaced but full of hairpins, and on summer weekends the traffic crawls, so leave at dawn on a Friday or go midweek. A day with a hired driver is the alternative if you would rather not tackle the bends. Walking is pleasant on the university campus and in Ta'if's parks, but distances between neighbourhoods are long.
- Uber and Careem
- Al Hawiyah to central Ta'if in about 20 minutes
- Rental car
- Needed for Al Hada, Al Shafa and Al-Wahbah
Know before you go
What makes Al Hawiyah worth the trip, and what catches visitors out.
Why travelers love it
- Ta'if's rose farms in spring, when the harvest for rose oil and rose water is under way.
- The drive up to Al Hada, with hairpin bends on the escarpment road from Makkah.
- Al-Wahbah crater, a long day trip to a huge volcanic hollow with a white salt floor.
Good to know
- There are few sights in town; the interest is in and around Ta'if.
- Summer weekends get crowded on Ta'if's mountain roads, so set off early.
Trip fit
BookingMentor editorial ratings out of 5, based on a first-time visitor's experience.
Weather in Al Hawiyah, month by month
Month-by-month climate figures for Al Hawiyah are being researched.
Shubra Palace, rose farms and the Al Hada road from Al Hawiyah
Two days from Al Hawiyah cover the Ta'if area: Shubra Palace, the central souq and Al Rudaf Park in the city, then a spring rose farm, the Al Hada escarpment road and its cable car, and the fruit stalls of Al Shafa. A third day reaches the Al-Wahbah crater, about 214 km away.
Use the first day for Ta'if itself. Drive in mid-morning and start at Shubra Palace, the old stone-and-timber palace that now houses a museum, then walk the lanes of the central souq for perfume, honey and bottles of rose water. After a long lunch, head to Al Rudaf Park, where families picnic among strange granite boulders in the late afternoon when the heat drops.
On day two, leave early for the mountains. In spring, stop first at a rose farm on the way out of the city, where the flowers are picked at dawn and distilled the same day. Then climb to Al Hada for the views straight down the escarpment toward the coast; the road is a show of switchbacks, and the cable car down the slope runs when the weather allows. Loop south to Al Shafa in the afternoon, where roadside stalls sell fruit grown on the terraces.
Saleeg, terrace fruit and Ta'if rose water around Al Hawiyah
Around Al Hawiyah, eat Hejazi saleeg and mandi, buy terrace-grown pomegranates and grapes in late summer, and take home Ta'if rose water or rose oil, ideally from a farm shop. In the evenings students fill Al Hawiyah's own cafes and shawarma counters, which suits a cheap supper after the mountain roads.
Highland farming shapes the menu. The signature Hejazi comfort dish is saleeg, rice simmered in milk and broth until soft and served under pieces of chicken or lamb, and Ta'if restaurants make it more often than Jeddah does. Mandi, meat slow-cooked over rice, is everywhere too, often eaten sitting on the floor in private rooms.
The fruit is the real local pride. Pomegranates and grapes from the terraces sell at roadside stalls near Al Shafa and in the city markets in late summer, and mountain honey is sold by the jar, priced by flower and region.
Roses run through everything. Ta'if rose water flavours sweets and is sometimes added to coffee, and the distilled oil is sold in tiny vials in the souq. Buy from a farm shop if you can, where you can see the process.
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How we research our Al Hawiyah travel guide
Al Hawiyah's travel facts are checked against Visit Saudi, the Saudi tourist eVisa site and Wikipedia's article on this Ta'if suburb.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Quick answers to the questions travelers ask most before visiting Al Hawiyah.
General
About 15 km from Ta'if in Makkah Province, in the highlands east of Jeddah and Makkah, right next to Ta'if's airport.
From April to September the plateau stays far cooler than the coast, which makes summer the busy season up here.
It is quieter, close to the airport and next to Taif University; central Ta'if is about 20 minutes away by car.
It is a good start: creamy rice cooked in broth, usually with chicken. Add mandi, Ta'if pomegranates and grapes in season, mountain honey and rose-water sweets.
Public transport is no help here. Within Al Hawiyah and into central Ta'if, about 15 km away, Uber and Careem are the easy option and the ride into town takes around 20 minutes outside rush hour. For the mountains you want your own wheels: the Al Hada road climbs west of Ta'if to the escarpment edge, and Al Shafa lies to the south, each roughly under an hour from Al Hawiyah.
Al Hawiyah is best known for:
- Ta'if's rose farms in spring, when the harvest for rose oil and rose water is under way
- The drive up to Al Hada, with hairpin bends on the escarpment road from Makkah
- Al-Wahbah crater, a long day trip to a huge volcanic hollow with a white salt floor
Timing & weather
Practically next door. A taxi or ride-hailing car covers it in a few minutes.
In spring. Farms around Ta'if pick the flowers early in the morning and distil them into rose water and rose oil.
The best time to visit Al Hawiyah is Apr to Sep. Highland weather, far milder than the coast.
- Best overall: April - September (Mild by Saudi standards; spring brings the rose harvest, summer the visitors from the hot cities)
- Winter: December - February (Cool days and cold nights in the highlands)
Getting there
Drive or hire a driver from King Abdulaziz Airport (JED), about two to three hours; non-Muslims must take routes that bypass Makkah's restricted area.
Yes for trips into Ta'if, since buses are not a practical option. For the mountain roads, hire a car.
The rose farms in spring, the mountain roads to Al Hada and Al Shafa, and Souq Okaz. Al-Wahbah crater is a long day trip.
About 214 km, a full day's outing by car to a vast volcanic crater with a white salt floor.
Visa & documents
A one-year multiple-entry tourist eVisa is available online or on arrival to citizens of many countries, including the UK, the EU, the US, Canada and Australia, and holders of valid US, UK or Schengen visas may also qualify. Umrah is allowed on a tourist visa outside Hajj season; Hajj needs a special visa.
Health & safety
Crime is low, but laws are strict and penalties severe, including for drugs and alcohol. Regional tensions can affect travel; check advice for areas near the Yemen border.
