King Khalid Royal Reserve

The King Khalid Royal Reserve, formerly al-Thumamah Wildlife Park, is a Royal Reserve in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, located northeast of Riyadh City, specifically on the southeastern side of King Khalid International Airport. On October 2, 2019, the approval was issued to transform the park into a Royal reserve. The reserve’s board of directors is chaired by Prince Turki Bin Mohammed Bin Fahd Bin Abdulaziz, minister of state and member of the Council of Ministers.

The King Khalid Royal Reserve spans an area of approximately 720 km and is overseen by the Council of Royal Reserves, chaired by the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

The reserve is accessible through a dual-road network from four different destinations. It is located eighty km from downtown Riyadh city and about 65.6 km from King Khalid International Airport. Biodiversity and ecodiversity have been thriving at the reserve, thanks to more than two decades of protection. It contains a variety of plateaus, valleys, and meadows, open plains, and mountainous areas with spectacular rock formations.

Resettlement of endangered species in their natural habitats. (SPA)

The reserve contains a varied multitude of fauna and flora species, thanks to the ongoing protection and ministration, with about 195 plant species, thirteen mammal species, 148 bird species, twenty-six reptile species, and eight insect classes, such as scorpions and spiders.

On March 21, 2022, the National Center for Wildlife (NCW), in cooperation with the Imam Abdulaziz Bin Mohammed Royal Reserve Development Authority, released twenty Arabian oryx and thirty Arabian sand gazelles at the King Khalid Royal Reserve, as part of the NCW's program for the propagation and resettlement of endangered endemic species in their natural habitats across all regions of the Kingdom.

The reserve includes a natural museum located at the foothills of al-Armah Mountains, offering a natural demonstration of the earth's geology, ancient monuments, and various natural formations. The museum's area is estimated at 2,100 m. The reserve also contains cable cars that start from the Botanical Garden Station to the top of al-Armah Mountains, to Khashm al-Thumamah Station to the south, and then through Ree’ al-Thumamah (via vast plain route between two mountains), all the way to Khashm al-Thumamah in the north, before descending to the Natural Museum Station.

A highlight of the reserve is the Safari Park, which is an open garden with animals from different habitats in an area of distinct topography. The park’s area is estimated at twenty million m. The reserve is home to Safari chalets, which are twenty chalets in the form of cottages located on a high hill beside the Safari Park, occupying an area of three thousand m.

The King Khalid Royal Reserve includes a botanical garden, wildlife camps, family day camps, and an adventure center, as well as the Youth Center for Sports and Recreation, youth camps, visitors’ center, Saudi Aviation Club, and the King Khalid Wildlife Research Center, which spans an area of up to seven million m. It contains offices, laboratories, a visitors’ center, animal reproduction facilities, and a large fenced-off area.

King Khalid Royal Reserve is characterized by a combination of sand dunes, and a number of natural valleys branching from Wadi as-Sulay, which pass along those dunes, such as Shoaib Abu Shajarah.