عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Varieties

AlUla Heritage Sites Reopen to Public End of October

Visitors take pictures at rock-hewn tombs of Madain Saleh near the city AlUla, Saudi Arabia January 25, 2019. (Reuters)
Visitors take pictures at rock-hewn tombs of Madain Saleh near the city AlUla, Saudi Arabia January 25, 2019. (Reuters)
TT
TT

AlUla Heritage Sites Reopen to Public End of October

Visitors take pictures at rock-hewn tombs of Madain Saleh near the city AlUla, Saudi Arabia January 25, 2019. (Reuters)
Visitors take pictures at rock-hewn tombs of Madain Saleh near the city AlUla, Saudi Arabia January 25, 2019. (Reuters)

The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) has confirmed that the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Hegra, the ancient kingdom of Dadan and the canyons of Jabal Ikmah will be the first sites to re-open to the public, having been largely closed off to visitors in the past period.

The RCU announced that residents of AlUla will have the opportunity to access the sites exclusively on 30 October for free. However, major COVID-19 safety measures have been put in place that adhere to the Ministry of Health protocols, which align which the safe travels guidelines published by the World Travel and Tourism Council.

Measures include mandatory pre-booking of tickets, temperature checks at the airport, distancing and limitations of visitors at heritage and other sites, increased sanitation measures and mandatory mask-wearing.

Phillip Jones, Chief Destination Management and Marketing Officer, highlighted the challenges that the teams faced while exerting their best efforts to deliver this important stage and to move to the next chapter of AlUla’s journey through time.

“We have a full team onsite to get the destination ready to welcome those first visitors and we’re excited to give the local community a chance to revisit their heritage sites before the rest of the world, while we continue to build on the experiences," Jones said.

Activations and immersive experiences at the heritage sites, as well as adventure experiences and events will be announced over the coming weeks and will be phased in over the winter months, with the full suite of experiences planned for the winter season to be expected by first quarter 2021.

AlUla Old Town too will be open as a visitor experience to the public for the first time from December 2020.

Flights are available with Saudia to AlUla from Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam. AlUla is just over three hours from Madinah and Tabuk Airport. It’s also only a 2.5 hour drive to the Red Sea which visitors can add on to their trip.

Most Viewed

 
 
Varieties

Rare Pudu Birth in Argentina Sparks Conservation Hopes for Tiny Enigmatic Deer

A rare pudu fawn named Lenga, born earlier this month, is seen at the Temaiken Foundation, in Buenos Aires, Argentina November 22, 2024. (Reuters)
A rare pudu fawn named Lenga, born earlier this month, is seen at the Temaiken Foundation, in Buenos Aires, Argentina November 22, 2024. (Reuters)
TT
TT

Rare Pudu Birth in Argentina Sparks Conservation Hopes for Tiny Enigmatic Deer

A rare pudu fawn named Lenga, born earlier this month, is seen at the Temaiken Foundation, in Buenos Aires, Argentina November 22, 2024. (Reuters)
A rare pudu fawn named Lenga, born earlier this month, is seen at the Temaiken Foundation, in Buenos Aires, Argentina November 22, 2024. (Reuters)

A rare pudu fawn was born in a biopark in Argentina earlier this month, giving scientists and conservationists a unique chance to study and collect data on the tiny enigmatic deer.

Weighing just 1.21 kg (2.7 lbs), the delicate, fragile and white-spotted male pudu fawn was named Lenga after a tree species endemic to the Andean Patagonian forest of Chile and Argentina.

"It's a very enigmatic animal, it's not easy to see," said Maximiliano Krause, Lenga's caretaker at the Temaiken Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to conserving wild species.

Pudus are one of the smallest deer species in the world, growing up to 50-cm (20-inches) tall and weighing up to 12 kg (26.5 lbs).

At just a fraction of that weight, Krause says Lenga is spending his days exploring the park with his mother Chalten and father Nicolino. Lenga is breastfeeding for the first two months until he can handle a herbivorous diet.

After that, Lenga will lose his white spots that help fawns camouflage themselves in their environment. Krause says the mottled color helps the tiny baby deer hide from both daytime and nighttime predators. At about one year, pudus develop antlers and reach up to 10 cm (4 inches).

Pudus are very elusive animals and flee in zig-zags when chased by predators. The tiny deer also face threats from wild dogs and species introduced into southern Argentina and Chile. Only about 10,000 pudus remain and are classified as near-threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

"This pudu birth is obviously a joy for us," said Cristian Guillet, director of zoological operations at the Temaiken Foundation.

Guillet said that Lenga will help them research and gather data that will help conservation efforts for pudus and other Patagonian deer, like the huemul.

"(This) offers hope of saving them from extinction," Guillet said.