Pooja Hegde Discovers AlUla, The Best-Kept Secret Of Arabia

AlUla is ready to lay bare its treasures to the world for the first time. Before it lifts the curtain, we took Bollywood beauty Pooja Hegde on an exclusiveaccess pass to marvel at the sacred sites, virgin landscapes, and unknown history of this Saudi Arabian gem.

- Rashima Nagpal

Three flights over one day.

That’s all it took to land in the middle of nowhere. But when the destination is as remarkable as AlUla, the travails of travel mean nothing. Add to that the scent of landing on a fresh new airport, which is still getting its finishing touches, and you know you’ve arrived at a destination largely untouched by humanity. A convoy of five luxurious SUVs carried us into the heart of the city. As the landscape of AlUla—brimming with sandstone—took over, flight fatigue and jet lag lost all meaning.

If this article made you look up AlUla, don’t be hard on yourself. Most people hadn’t heard of it until recently. It was only in the last couple of months that the name began to appear in headlines. Many articles called it ‘Saudi Arabia’s Petra’. But it’s more than a little unfair to compare one marvel to another. It’s time to recognize AlUla for its uniqueness. But before we get to its present alluring state, it bodes well to delve into its rich, captivating history.

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