Wadi Namar: A Man-Made Haven for Outdoor Recreation

by George Pontino Jr.

Featuring: HAGOD Group Filipino Visual Arts Group 

Wadi meaning a valley, ravine, or channel that is dry except in the rainy season.

One of the most visited parks in Riyadh, KSA, Wadi Namar, offers you the closest picnic spot from the city center where you can relax by an wide artificial lake. It's a family/kid friendly semi-natural setting that's only 15 minutes drive from Olaya via King Fahad road. It is where you can refresh yourself and beat homesickness during weekends. Expats and locals love the place that it gets to be congested at around 3 pm. 

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Wadi Namar, located in the south of Riyadh, stretches from west to east until meeting Wadi Hanifah. A wadi is a valley, ravine, or channel that is dry except in the rainy season. The vicinity is a lake dam with a 2 kilometer corniche. It is a rocky valley with overlooking cliffs that offer a panoramic vista. Recently, a man-made waterfalls, a machine driven one, has become an added attraction to the public. But that area is off-limits for visitors as the authorities seems to be aware of making visitors safe. Aside from rocks, accidents do happen specially when you deal with mechanized water installations.  

Wadi Namar, along with Wadi Laban, is rehabilitation project carried out by the Riyadh Development Authority. Its aim is to rehabilitate Wadi Hanifah tributaries, which serves as lungs for Riyadh. Through the Saudi government's initiative, the area now attracts many kinds of migratory birds. Always present are the numerous ducks and doves that feed on fish which are now abundant in the reservoir. Insects like dragonflies can be seen roving around the vicinity.

The corniche or the waterfront of the park is a place full of shade, it's where 520 rows and columns of date palm trees are planted. The area is a no bbg or shisha zone but one can do these activities under the tree just beside the cliffs, away from the pavilion.  

Helpful Tip: If you plan to rest below shade of trees by side of the rocky valley, be careful for possible falling rocks or landslides.

At Wadi Namar, you can rest and relax, breathe fresh air, watch ducks and birds fly by, play skateboards or some ball sports, do some photoshoots, shisha smoking, art session, plein air painting, cook some bbq, walking, drone flying, enjoy the view and do more activities. There are also inflatable playgrounds for the kids set up by some business-minded individuals.

The site can accommodate 800 vehicles and the best time to go there is early in the morning, as the roads and parking lots will be congested by 3 p.m. The corniche can get crowded too as families come in droves. Amenities like rest rooms, food trucks, pedestrian walkways and paved parking lots abound. At night, the area has lamp posts and ambiance lighting.

At 4p.m., when the man-made waterfalls start to operate, you may go to the upper side cliff of Wadi Namar, where you will be treated with a panoramic view of the corniche and a great bird's eye view. Plus, if you like chasing sunsets, the park atop Wadi Namar is where the setting sun can be viewed  at its most grand and beautiful exit. Meanwhile, if you plan to have a photo just inches by the falls, it is actually strictly off limits as park guards wanted to avoid accidents. They warn people from possible falling rocks. If you worry about kid's safety, the observation deck has fences to protect kids and visitors from accidental fall.

MORE ABOUT SAUDI ARABIA:

Restaurant Feature:

Islas Resto and Grill Boodle Fight
Faterat Cheese Shawarma Fast Food

Places to Go on Adventure:

Red Sands Dunes Al Haeer

Edge of the World Tuwaiq Escarpment

 WADI NAMAR LOCATION MAP