Why this ride
138 km from Al Mubarraz to Al Mubarraz, about 2 h 03 of riding. The stops in between: `Ain Qinas archaeological site, Al-Asfar Lake and back through `Ain Qinas archaeological site. It strings together lakeside roads.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Qasr Sahood and Al-Asfar Lake
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 138 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 03
- 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 Sahood
Al-Ahsa is the world's largest date-palm oasis, and Qasr Sahood stands in the middle of it, in the busy city of Al Mubarraz. The oasis owes its existence to natural springs that rise from deep aquifers, so abundant that for centuries they fed canals and pools across tens of thousands of hectares of gardens, with several million palms shading rice, vegetables and fruit trees underneath. In the middle of an enormous desert, the effect is startling: green, wet, shaded and noisy with birds. UNESCO recognised the oasis in 2018 as a cultural landscape, and the fortress and the old mosques are part of the picture.
Read the complete Qasr Sahood write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Qasr Sahood 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 28 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 85 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 Sahood.
5. Qasr Sahood
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Qasr Sahood write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Qasr Sahood. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Qasr Sahood to `Ain Qinas archaeological site
Qasr Sahood → `Ain Qinas archaeological site is 28 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 Sahood
back through `Ain Qinas archaeological site → Qasr Sahood is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
More motorcycle rides nearby
- Al-`Oyun village and As-Seef · 70 km
- Qasr Sahood and Jawatha archaeological site · 115 km
- As-Seef and Al-Asfar Lake · 149 km