Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Sights & Activities
The
old town
, perched on a hilltop, marks the site of the Ottoman regional capital and is
worth a walk, as is the town's
souq
. There is good
hiking
potential in the attractive sur-
rounding countryside. A stunning but easy three- to four-hour walk begins from the ham-
let of Bait Gawza a few kilometres out of town and worms its way along the edge of a
sheer ledge back to Al-Mahwit via the villages of Kadha and Almasia.
Nobody, especially hikers, should miss out on the early morning pilgrimage to
Ar-Riady
,
a viewpoint just to the northwest of town where the mountains cascade downwards for
what seems like hundreds upon hundreds of metres and your tummy starts spinning in a
vertigo-inspired twizzle. As the morning heats up you can watch the dancing clouds surge
up out of the Red Sea plains and swallow up the villages precariously perched on ledges
and rock needles below you.
Sleeping & Eating
In the past a popular hotel with foreigners was the
Al-Majed Tourist Hotel
(s/d YR2000/3000)
, on
the main dirt road leading off the main surfaced road.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Manakhah
01
The largest commercial centre in the high mountains, Manakhah might be a non-descript
town, but it's the centre of Yemeni trekking. From here everything from gentle hour-long
rambles to serious multiday expeditions fan out across the highlands.
Sights & Activities
Hikes lasting from one hour to a week or more are possible. Trekking is a year-round
activity, but during the summer monsoon period it can be uncomfortably hot, not to men-
tion a little damp. In the past the hotels were able to provide guides and equipment for any
kind of hike. As tourism begins to pick up and the hotels re-open it's likely this will begin
again.
As with other Yemeni trekking centres the lack of organised, way-marked trails means
that it's much better to let a local guide suggest a route suitable for your experience and
