Staying in a Saudi Cave

Toddlers and ledges and caves, oh my!

We followed the harrowing gravel road up the stone mountains of Lower Shada Mountain in the Al Bahah region – not in search of a wizard to whisk us home (although that would have been handy sometimes) – but to a cave resort paradise where we and another family would spend the weekend.

Over the years, I’ve realized Saudi tends to use the term “resort” quite loosely. The “beach resorts” we pay to attend for a day are small, semi-nice, seafront properties, usually with one swimming pool, one restaurant, and some cabana shade if we’re lucky. Think less “Cancun” and more “Lake Michigan on a budget.” Thankfully we had been forewarned that, though this cave place has “resort” in its name, we should expect more of a glamping experience.

I can’t state it enough – appropriately setting expectations is the key for having great trips in Saudi.

Before I get into a description of the property, let’s go back to the drive, because that was an adventure all its own. We caravanned from Jeddah and the quickest route is a little over 5 hours down the coast and eastward. About 4.5 hours of the drive is boring, flat desert but the last half hour we discovered why 4×4’s were HIGHLY recommended by the cave resort. We drove our Chevy Traverse (not 4×4) and she has been punishing us for it ever since. There were a couple places where we couldn’t make the steep hairpin turns and had to gently reverse down the skinny two-lane road until we could gather enough momentum to try climbing again. Then our one-year-old couldn’t take the turns anymore and vomited what seemed like all the food he’s ever consumed.

Finally we made it to our destination, or at least the google pin we were given. We wasted another half hour attempting to find the actual entrance. (A picture of the entrance is below, so if I convince you to visit, look for the tiny sign attached to the rock.) Our poor Chevy fully gave up on us at the base of the driveway from the road to the resort gate, so we parked her at the bottom and had to hike the last 200 meters or so. Then we waited for help to bring up our luggage, which the resort thankfully agreed to do.

I felt guilty because we did not pack lightly. Pack-n-plays, monitors, toy trucks, toilet paper… we also had to bring all our own food for the weekend. Our two families like to eat fresh and healthy (and we always want to be prepared with snacks for the kids) so naturally we brought enough food for a month. The fridge was literally bursting with kale and brussel sprouts. We also brought cooking utensils, pots and pans, and dinnerware because it’s always a crapshoot what will actually be provided. Surprisingly, the kitchen had some cookware and plates/utensils so we probably could have made do with what they had available. The place offers you the opportunity to pay for a cook, but you still have to bring the food, so…we didn’t do that.

After we had a little time to decompress from our walk up the hill, food unloading, and vomit cleaning, we were able to explore the property. The deep orange sun was setting as the property owner (it’s a family business) showed us around and introduced us to the variety of trees and plants. As the tour ended, pretty quickly because of our lack of Arabic to ask any more questions, the caretaker of the place gestured to the sitting area where a beautiful tray of Arabic coffee, dates, and fresh honey had been placed. The owner informed us the coffee was just freshly picked from the trees and roasted on the stove. Then he ran to grab a pair of binoculars and pointed down the mountain to show me where his bee hives are kept. Hot coffee, sticky dates, and delightful honey…ahh…a moment of rest until bedrooms needed to be assigned, pack-n-plays set up, and shower situations figured out.

When booking the cave resort, you get the whole place to yourself. The caretaker stays on site though, so he’s available to answer any questions or provide help – like when he didn’t trust our bonfire-making skills and showed up with a small leaf blower to assist in fanning the flames.

There are 4 bedrooms on the property (three of them restrooms) and a small kitchen with fridge and stove (no oven). The bedrooms are decent (spacious, working A/C’s, curtains) but the common spaces are what really make the place worth a stay. A cozy covered lounge spot with a low table is where we ate all our meals, relaxed, and read. Above that, in a large uncovered area, the caretaker spread out richly-colored carpets and cushions on the dirt in the evenings so we could watch the sunset with an unimpeded view. Unimpeded because there is just a small ledge separating the carpeted spot from a 10ft plunge to the sloping rocks below, which could lead to a tumbling roll even further down the mountain. With toddler boys wrestling and bumbling about, we really couldn’t relax all day until they were safely tucked in their beds.

Stomach-lurching ledges aside, there is also a peaceful garden area with a hammock, and a skinny trail leading to an orchard with a wide variety of trees – coffee, cotton, guava, mango, kumquat, pomegranate, figs. A brood of chickens wanders among the foliage and rocks. Beyond the orchard and chicken coop, we hiked in and around the massive stones, chasing electric blue lizards and tightly gripping little hands.

I haven’t yet mentioned my boys’ favorite part – the large majlis area tucked inside a cave. A large-screen TV is mounted to the cave wall, next to a laser light machine that syncs to the surround system. The pulsing beat of “I Like to Move It” reverberated from the cave entrance for a majority of our stay. As long as they were having a dance party inside the cave, they weren’t near the ledges outside.

The weekend provided us a rare opportunity to spend time in nature, enjoying God’s creation while tucked into our own mountain hideaway. It was nice to be woken by rooster crows instead of cat dumpster fights, to hear wind rustling in trees because there were actual trees with leaves, and to watch the sun set as we roasted marshmallows over a campfire.

A few notes for any future visitors:

• The place is doable with small kids, but it depends on your threshold of risk. With older kids, it would absolutely be a blast.
• It would be helpful to have an Arabic speaker in your group but you can get by with gestures and Google Translate.
• You have to bring your own food, water, and firewood. Once you’re up there, jetting off to a convenience store isn’t an option. However, the owner did message us at one point and ask if we needed anything because he was going to town.
• The rental contract is negotiated over WhatsApp and you make a wire transfer of the full amount in order to reserve your spot. I think they allow smaller groups (individuals or couples) to pay per bedroom instead of paying to rent the whole property.
• Reservations are from 8am to 8am the following day, a firm 24 hours. We didn’t realize this and were thankfully able to extend our checkout to 11am on the final day. So make sure you finalize the checkout info ahead of time.
• Seriously, drive a sturdy 4×4. Our Chevy Traverse and our friends’ Toyota Rav4 both had major engine issues after the trip.
• From Jeddah, the quickest route is south down the coast, but when we returned to Jeddah, we took the northern route through Taif. Although it adds an hour and a half of driving, it was worth it for the scenery, and much better for kids because there are plenty of parks along the way. On the other route, we literally couldn’t even find shade for a picnic, except a tiny sliver underneath an electric pole.

Cave Resort approximate location: https://goo.gl/maps/MWZwDNQYhD8aBChn8

Cave Resort contact number: +966 50 115 2935

Some photo credit to: Sean McKee, Dylan Van dijk, Jen Van dijk