Al Ahsa can be proud of a number of mountains, the most prominent mountain being Jabal Al-Qarah, (Mount Qarah), which is a worthwhile excursion destination. The place is prepared for tourism with ticket office, cafe, gift store, etc. A few rooms in the entrance building contain exhibits that provide a brief and worthwhile summary of this geological site, which has been given the theme ‘Land of Civilisation‘. Actually, Mount Qarah is rather a hill (locally called mountain) – in the neighbourhood Al-Qarah with the same name – that offers cool air to visitors in the summer months; it is located about 10 km (6 mi) beeline from Al Hofuf city center. The mountain is a rocky sedimentary formation geologically formed 23 to 5 million years ago. The formation consists of reddish sandstone or limestone. The cave passages of Mount Qarah are typified by an inverse climate with respect to that of the external environment, i.e., when the external temperature is high, the cave passages have a cooler climate, or vice versa.
