Al-Bahah City

Al-Baha also spelled as Al-Bahah (Arabic: ٱلْبَاحَة‎, romanized: al-Bāḥa) is a city in the Hejaz region of Saudi Arabia, located in the Sarawat Mountains. It is the capital and administrative center of Al-Baha Province and is considered one of the country's notable tourist destinations.

Geography

Al-Baha City lies in the south west of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, between Mecca (which borders it from the north, west, and south west) and Asir (which borders it from the south-east). It is the smallest of the kingdom's provinces (11,000 square kilometres (1,100,000 ha)). It is surrounded by a number of cities, including Taif on the north, Beesha on the east, and Al-Qunfuda on coast of the Red Sea in the west. This tourist city is situated in an area characterized by natural tree cover and agricultural plateaus. It consists of six towns, the most important of which are Baljurashi, Al-Mandaq, and Al-Mikhwah, in addition to Al-Baha city in the center of the province. The province comprises 31 administrative centres, and it has a population of 339,174 (2022).

The province is known for its beauty and has forests, wildlife areas, valleys and mountains that attract visitors from all parts of the kingdom and the Persian Gulf area. Some of these areas are the forests of Raghdan, Ghomsan, Fayk, and Aljabal, and many other historical and archaeological sites. It contains more than 53 forests.

Al-Baha is the homeland of the Ghamid and Zahran tribes and is divided geographically into three distinct parts: Sarah, which contains the high Hejaz Mountains characterized by temperate weather and rich plant cover due to relatively high annual rainfall, the Tihamah which is the lowland coastal area to the west of the Hejaz, characterized by very hot and humid weather and very little rainfall average, and the eastern hills characterized by an altitude of 1,550 to 1,900 metres (5,090 to 6,230 feet) above sea level with cool winters, hot summers and sparse plant cover. The largest city in the province, both in population and area, is Baljurashi, the second one is Al-Mandaq. In Tehama, there are two major cities: Qilwah and Al-Mikhwah. The number of tribes are 18, branching from the main ones, Ghamid and Zahran. The province has 13 settled tribes (working in trades and agriculture) and five nomadic tribes.

Al Bahah has a cool steppe climate (Köppen:BSh). The climate is greatly affected by its varying geographic features. Generally speaking, the climate in Al-Baha is mild with temperatures ranging between 7 and 32.3 °C (44.6 and 90.1 °F). Due to its location at 1,700–2,200 metres (5,600–7,200 ft) above sea level, Al Baha's climate is hot in summer and cool in winter. The area attracts visitors looking for a moderate climate and pristine, scenic views.

In the Tehama area of the province, which is down on the coast, the climate is hot in the summer and warm in the winter. Humidity ranges from 52%–67%.