Abha & Asir

When the rest of the Kingdom bakes, Asir turns green. The highlands around Abha rise above 2,200 metres, catching monsoon-fed mists that keep summers cool and hillsides terraced with crops.

The region's cultural treasures are its villages: Rijal Almaa, a 900-year-old village of stone tower houses, and the painted interior rooms of Asiri homes — a living art tradition carried by local women.

Ride the cable car down the escarpment, hike in Asir National Park, and look for the famously photogenic — and territorial — hamadryas baboons along the mountain roads.