Why this ride
A 146 km round trip from Al Hufūf - roughly 2 h 10 in the saddle. On the way it passes `Ain Qinas archaeological site, Al-Asfar Lake and back through `Ain Qinas archaeological site. It strings together lakeside roads.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Qasr Ibrahim and Al-Asfar Lake
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 146 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 10
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
`Ain Qinas archaeological site → Al-Asfar Lake
Slow enough to look. The surface follows the shoreline, so the corners arrive where the water decided, not where an engineer did. Water arrives beside the road and stays for 28 km. The line follows the shore because there is nowhere else for it to go.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 57 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Qasr Ibrahim
Hofuf is the main town of Al-Ahsa, in eastern Saudi Arabia, and Al-Ahsa is not what you picture when you think of the Arabian desert. It is a vast oasis, one of the largest in the world, with some two and a half million date palms fed by natural springs that rise from deep aquifers and flow through channels and canals. The green of the palms against the sand around it is striking, and UNESCO listed the oasis in 2018 as a cultural landscape that has been inhabited since the Neolithic era.
Read the complete Qasr Ibrahim write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Qasr Ibrahim is where the day begins. Next is `Ain Qinas archaeological site.
2. `Ain Qinas archaeological site
Ain Qinas is a spring, one of many that bubble up through the oasis of Al-Ahsa, and it is one of the reasons for the place's long life. The water emerges warm from deep rock, at a steady temperature, and has been channelled for centuries into stone-lined pools and a network of canals that irrigate the groves. For people crossing an arid peninsula, this must have seemed like a miracle, and the springs and their surroundings are part of the oasis's World Heritage listing. The site is a pleasant, shaded corner where palm trees lean over the water and the sound of running water is constant.
Read the complete `Ain Qinas archaeological site write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
`Ain Qinas archaeological site comes up about 32 km into the recorded legs. Next is Al-Asfar Lake.
3. Al-Asfar Lake
The Al-Ahsa oasis in eastern Saudi Arabia is a green island in a very large desert. Under the sand lie huge aquifers, and springs rise to the surface to feed an area of about eighty-five square kilometres of date palms, said to be the largest oasis in the world, with perhaps two and a half million trees. It lies not far from the Gulf coast, near the city of Hofuf, and it has been settled for thousands of years, from the Bronze Age through the ancient Dilmun culture and into Islamic times. UNESCO listed it in 2018 as an evolving cultural landscape.
Read the complete Al-Asfar Lake write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 89 km into the recorded legs you reach Al-Asfar Lake. Next is back through `Ain Qinas archaeological site.
4. back through `Ain Qinas archaeological site
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete `Ain Qinas archaeological site write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through `Ain Qinas archaeological site, late in the day. Next is Qasr Ibrahim.
5. Qasr Ibrahim
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Qasr Ibrahim write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Qasr Ibrahim. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Qasr Ibrahim to `Ain Qinas archaeological site
Qasr Ibrahim → `Ain Qinas archaeological site is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
`Ain Qinas archaeological site to Al-Asfar Lake
`Ain Qinas archaeological site → Al-Asfar Lake is 57 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Al-Asfar Lake to back through `Ain Qinas archaeological site
Al-Asfar Lake → back through `Ain Qinas archaeological site is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through `Ain Qinas archaeological site to Qasr Ibrahim
back through `Ain Qinas archaeological site → Qasr Ibrahim is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
More motorcycle rides nearby
- Qasr Sahood and Jawatha archaeological site · 115 km
- Qasr Khuzam and Al-Asfar Lake · 150 km
- As-Seef and Al-Asfar Lake · 149 km
- Al-`Oyun village and Al-Asfar Lake · 191 km