Hidden Cliffs
In the run-up to the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series 2024, Catalin Preda from Romania and America’s David Colturi become the first people to dive into the wadis of Saudi Arabia in a hike and dive experience through the rough and rugged nature of Jazan province. Set against the unique backdrop of the Wadis Lajab and Al-Rough in the kingdom’s Jazan province, the Romanian American duo explored the canyons, deep valleys, waterfalls and freshwater ponds deep enough to host fish and some incredible cliff dives.
In the short off-season between the rescheduled 2023 season finale end of January in New Zealand and the beginning of the new season at the end of May, the two-time stop winner from Romania, Preda, was in awe of the Saudi Arabian cliff search experience. In Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest country without rivers at 2.15 million square kilometres, where there are no rivers, lakes or areas with lush natural vegetation because there is little to no rainfall, the cliff divers looked for hidden pools to dive into. Five days in Saudi Arabia summed up to climbing, hiking, bouldering, scrambling, diving, diving far, diving close, small landing spots, beautiful wadis, green vegetation, raw rugged desert with dry rocks and all kinds of flora and fauna. Monkeys, donkeys, camels, and bets flying over the wadi at night.
