“Saudi Arabia is absolutely vast in scale, that is the first thing that strikes me. It’s also incredibly diverse, you get everything from jet black volcanic lava fields to red sandstone deserts like you might see in Wadi Rum (in Jordan), to high granite ranges like you’d see in the Sinai (in Egypt), to green forested rolling mountains in the south. The natural beauty of it is extraordinary, it’s one of the most visually spectacular places, if not the most spectacular, that I have ever seen in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia feels very wild, very beautiful, it feels untrodden, perhaps more than other destinations it feels new.” Ben Hoffler, has spent 15 years developing trails in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula and Jordan and is now working with local guides, including Bedouin scouts, to develop Saudi’s ancient ways for local and international hikers. The epic hiking trails emerging in Saudi Arabia [CNN]