Where is the spring?

Each destination is a rawdah, faydah, shaib, wadi, qa’a or khabra (where desert spring grows) around which the satellite detected spring, ranked by the spring area within about 5 km of it. The distance is from the nearest city. Tap a name to see it on the map.

63 sites for camping and caravans in 9 regions, with a combined capacity of 16,870 camp pitches and 1,264 caravans. The permit for each site is from the Nabati platform (Request a permit from the Center (Nabati platform)), and the capacity is as the authority wrote it. Tap a region for its table.

Site data are from the 2025 Camping and Caravan Guide issued by the National Center for Vegetation Cover Development and Combating Desertification, reorganised by us and not endorsed by the Center. Permits are issued by the Center alone through the Nabati platform; DataPulse is a private entity that does not issue permits and is not affiliated with the Center. Check the site’s availability and conditions before you go.

Competent authority: National Center for Vegetation Cover Development and Combating Desertification. Camping permit for each site: Request a permit from the Center (Nabati platform). Source: Camping and Caravan Guide 2025 — National Center for Vegetation Cover Development and Combating Desertification (PDF, in Arabic) · Last checked: 4 October 2026 (23 Rabi' al-Akhir 1448 AH). The site Mutanazzah Tur Al Yazid* متنزه طور آل يزيد has no coordinates because its link in the guide duplicates another site’s, so we list it in the table and do not draw it on the map.Turn on the “Camping sites (Center’s guide)” layer on the map to see the sites; a site inside a reserve that requires a permit gets the reserve’s conditions, not a directions link.

Newly green (became spring within the last 16 days, since 17 September 2026 (6 Rabi' al-Akhir 1448 AH)): 809 km² in Asir, 650 km² in Jazan, 545 km² in Makkah, 116 km² in Al-Baha, 1 km² in Madinah, 1 km² in Najran.

Spring in the Kingdom is now wider than in 19 of the last 24 years in October.

Each region

• Asir: Spring in Asir Region is now wider than in 21 of the last 24 years in October.
• Jazan: Spring in Jazan Region is now wider than in 21 of the last 24 years in October.
• Makkah: Spring in Makkah Region is now wider than in 11 of the last 24 years in October.
• Al-Baha: Spring in Al-Baha Region is now wider than in 10 of the last 24 years in October.
• Riyadh: No spring right now in Riyadh Region; its season is usually from January to March.
• Eastern Province: No spring right now in the Eastern Province; its season is usually from January to March.
• Madinah: No spring right now in Madinah Region; its season is usually from December to February.
• Qassim: No spring right now in Qassim Region; its season is usually from January to March.
• Tabuk: No spring right now in Tabuk Region; its season is usually from December to March.
• Hail: No spring right now in Hail Region; its season is usually from January to March.
• Northern Borders: No spring right now in Northern Borders Region; its season is usually from January to March.
• Najran: No spring right now in Najran Region; wide spring has rarely appeared there in past years’ imagery.
• Al-Jouf: No spring right now in Al-Jouf Region; its season is usually from February to March.

The comparison is approximate: today’s image is a snapshot of the last 8 days, while past years are the average of the whole month of October on 1 km cells; so “now” is calculated here the same way, and differs slightly from the map figure above.

The arrow compares with a reading 8 days earlier. The average is for the same month in 2016–2025, and a single exceptional year can raise it; the ranking between years is in “This year compared with past years”.

• Method: the satellite measures the greenness of the land cell by cell. We compare its greenness now with the colour of the same land when dry (from ten years of imagery). What has clearly increased we call “starting to green”, then “spring”, then “strong spring”.
• Resolution: each cell on the map is about 500 m by 500 m. A rawdah, faydah or wadi shows; a narrow shaib does not. The cells are drawn with their true edges, without smoothing, so what you see is what the satellite measured.
• What is not desert spring: we exclude permanent greenery such as farms and oases, anything that does not look like the pattern of desert spring, and land that greens in summer year after year because it is most likely irrigated. Named rawdahs and faydahs are exempt from the “often green land” rule so that they are not counted as farms, unless there are fields near them that green every winter.
• Comparison with past years: from satellite imagery (MODIS, NASA) since 2002: one image per month on 1 km cells, classified the same way, so we know where the land greened in each month of each year, in which months each place usually greens, and in how many years it greened.
• Two satellites, not one: we count a cell as spring only if a second, independent satellite (NOAA-20) confirms it along with the Terra satellite.
• Farms: we exclude farms, wadi farms, oases, built-up areas, the surroundings of villages and hijrahs (about 1.5 km) and land that is green all year (shown in grey in the “Farms and permanent greenery” layer if you turn it on) so they are not counted as spring. A new farm may slip through; if you see a regular green shape, it is a farm.
• Using the map: “Desert landmarks” shows only the landmarks with spring around them, coloured by type; turn on “All landmarks” to see the rest or “Landmark names” to show names (landmark names from Desert Maps). The blue dot is your location, and the “My location” button on the map brings you back to it. When you open the page your browser asks permission to find your location; your location is used only on your device to calculate distance, and is not sent to us or stored.
• Timing: the image is the best reading of the last 8 days, so what greened two days ago may not show yet, and clouds delay the reading.
• Names: Place names are shown in Arabic as on the maps, with a Latin form: the known spelling where one exists (cities, reserves, regions and the best-known destinations), otherwise an automatic letter-by-letter transliteration marked *. Transliterations are approximate and may differ from local spellings; the Arabic name is the reference.
• Do not drive into a rawdah: driving vehicles into protected rawdahs and faydahs is a violation monitored by the Special Forces for Environmental Security, with fines of up to SAR 2,000, and some of the best-known rawdahs (such as King Abdulaziz Royal Reserve in As-Summan and Ad-Dahna) require a prior electronic permit. Leave your car on the road and walk.
• Before you go: greenness seen from space does not guarantee the condition of the place on the ground or permission to enter it. Some sites are reserves or private property, camping has its own regulations, and wadi beds are dangerous. The decision and its responsibility rest with you.

The information is analytical to support decisions; it is not financial or investment advice. The decision and its responsibility rest with the user.