Habala Village Taxi — Cable Car to the Cliffside Village
Taxi from Abha to Habala Village (Al-Habalah) — Arabia's most extraordinary heritage village, clinging to a sheer 300m cliff face. Accessible only by cable car. Driver waits at the top. 50 minutes from Abha.
Cable Car Last Descent — Check Before Going
The Habala cable car has set operating hours with a last descent time. Missing the last cable car up means being stranded in the village. Check current hours at asirpark.com or ask your driver to call ahead before visiting.
Habala Village — What Makes It Unique
The Cliff Settlement
Habala Village clings to a sheer vertical cliff face on the western edge of the Asir plateau. The stone houses — some multi-storey — were built directly into ledges and crevices in the rock. From below, the village appears to grow out of the cliff itself. There is no road access. This is one of the most extraordinary human settlements in Arabia.
Habala means 'rope' in Arabic — the original access method.
Qahtani Tribe Heritage
The Qahtani tribe built Habala centuries ago as an impregnable defensive position — the cliff face protected them from tribal raids and invaders from the lowlands. The village was inhabited until relatively recently. Some heritage restoration work preserves the original stone structures. The tribal descendants still maintain connection to the site.
Now largely uninhabited — preserved as heritage site.
Escarpment Views
From Habala Village level (300m below the plateau), the views look UP at the cliff face and OUT across the Tihama coastal plain to the Red Sea. On clear days the sea is visible. The scale of the escarpment viewed from below is extraordinary — more dramatic than from the top.
Best visibility in mornings before haze builds.
Day Trip: Al-Soudah + Habala Combined
| Time | Activity | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| 8:00am | Depart Abha by taxi | – |
| 8:40am | Arrive Al-Soudah summit (2,910m) | 40 min drive |
| 8:45am | Al-Soudah viewpoint & park walk | 45 min |
| 9:30am | Cable car descent to Habala Village | 7 min descent |
| 9:37am | Explore Habala Village | 60–90 min |
| 11:00am | Cable car ascent back to Al-Soudah | 7 min ascent |
| 11:10am | Return taxi to Abha | 40 min drive |
| 11:50am | Back in Abha — half day trip complete | – |
Approximate schedule — cable car hours subject to change. Confirm times on day of visit.