AT A GLANCE
Why go?
The High City (Al-Madina Al-Aliyah) is a hilltop entertainment and dining complex perched high in central Abha along King Abdulaziz Road, offering panoramic views over the city and the dramatic western escarpment toward the Tihama plains below. Blending traditional Asiri architecture with modern amenities, it brings together cafés, restaurants, play areas, event spaces, and boutique lodging in a setting where clouds and fog frequently roll across the mountaintops.↗↗↗
Opened in 2020 and spanning more than 26,000 square metres, the complex has become one of Abha's signature landmarks — a place where families, couples, and photographers gather to enjoy cool mountain air, sweeping vistas, and a lively social scene during the summer tourism season.↗↗↗
Views Among the Clouds
Abha itself sits at roughly 2,270 metres above sea level, earning the city its nickname as the "City of Fog." The High City exploits that altitude to spectacular effect. From its elevated terraces and walkways, you look northwest over the green sprawl of Abha and southeast toward the steep, hazy drop of the Tihama escarpment — those dramatic escarpment slopes with their deep valleys and winding roads that plunge toward the Red Sea coastal plain. On days when moisture from the coast pushes inland, low clouds gather around the complex itself, and you find yourself having coffee with a view literally swallowed by white mist before it lifts to reveal the landscape again.