Haraz Mountains
A Range Of Steep Terraced Mountains Rising Above The Tihama, With Stone Villages On Peaks Such As Al Hajjarah, Manakha And Al Khutayb, Rich Coffee Terraces And Sheer Drops. A Classic Yemen Highland Trekking Region, With Al Hajjarah A Fortified Village On A Crag. Under The Same Authorities And Risks As Sana'A · Manakha, Sanaa
The Haraz Mountains rise steeply west of Sana'a between the highlands and the hot Tihama plain, with some peaks above 3,000 m. The slopes are cut into stone terraces, and their coffee, sorghum and qat have fed villages for centuries. Manakha is the regional town, and Al Hajjarah is a fortified village of stone towers on a crag. Al Khutayb is another well-known village, perched on a steep hillside above a deep valley. Cloud can hide the view for hours. The region carries Ismaili Sulayhid heritage, and old mule paths link the villages, which made it a classic trekking area. The main road from Sana'a to Hudaydah climbs and drops through hairpins, and cloud often fills the valleys. Most governments advise against all travel to Yemen because of the war since 2014-15, and this region lies under the same authorities and risks as Sana'a, including checkpoints and the danger of airstrikes. Access, roads and checkpoints are unknown and changing.
Manakha and Al Hajjarah, in the Haraz range about 100 km west of Sana'a, on the road to Al Hudaydah, Manakha, Sanaa, Yemen
The mountains have no opening hours, because they are a landscape and not a ticketed site. The terraces, mule paths and village lanes are FREE to look at, and daylight is the only limit, as the tracks are dangerous after dark. Individual houses, mosques and small museums or old forts in the villages are often CLOSED unless a keeper is found, and Fridays are quiet, with many shops CLOSED around the noon prayer. Markets run in the morning. Cloud can close in by midday. Confirm current access locally on the day.