AL SHAFA VALLEY VIEWPOINT

DON BANARIA
Apr 13, 2021
3 min read

Location: Al Shafa town center

Distance from Taif: 35 Km

Travel Time: 30 minutes

Activities to Enjoy: Sightseeing, and interaction with wild monkeys

It would be best if you had something to feed the monkeys because they expect you to have some food for them. Before getting out of the car, you should be ready with the food items in your hands for giving to the troops.

Wild monkeys had already gotten used to interacting with humans. They automatically come expecting to have something to eat once they spotted you around the vicinity. All the more, when they see you throwing foods, they come in a troop just like what I experienced; upon getting out from the car, I could see them coming close to me.

Monkeys waiting the author to hand them foods

I advise you not to eat in the area and never bring your snacks in your hands if you do not want to get swarmed by these baboons.

Monkeys are running immediately upon spotting the author getting out of the car

Al Shafa District is a town in Makkah Province, adjacent to the City of Taif. Most people even think that this is part of Taif, including myself, before reading its geographical information. But still, when one speaks of Taif City, Al Shafa is connected or the other way.

If you do not intend to go inside the Shafa Mountain parks and spots, you can still enjoy the mountain landscapes striking views from Taif to the town center of Shafa. There are several spots and points where you can view the mountain gulley and cliffs covered with green colors of trees, grasses, and spikes of cactus.

Physical interaction with the wild baboons is one of the main attractions. The encounter with this wild animal could be anywhere because they roam around the town, which sometimes causes traffic jams on the street.

The Valley View Point is the main area you should visit. This is a park where the troops are standing by, waiting for humans to feed them.

Other than that, you will be mesmerized as well by the sights before your eyes, looking the valleys down the Shafa town center, different species of birds freely flying, chirping, and feeding.

The Valley Viewpoint is among the most popular parks in Shafa District and others inside Shafa Mountain Range. Located at the Shafa town center makes it easy for the parkgoers to access the place.

Things to Prepare

To have a more exciting interaction with the troop of baboons on your visit, you need to prepare the following:

1. Foodstuffs for feeding

- Fruits (apples – just the cheaper quality. I am suggesting this because this is one of the most common fruits available in the market. Monkeys love apples too, other than a banana)

- Vegetables (Carrots is most common, cabbage and lettuce)

- Bread (Kubos is the best because it’s cheaper. With a small amount of money, you can feed a more significant number of monkeys.

- Root crops (potato or sweet potato is the best)

2. Camera on a stick

- We always wanted to capture a memory in every place we visit. Here, much better to put your camera on a selfie stick to get a firm hold of it and easy for you to take the shots, especially if you are visiting alone.

Things to Avoid

1. Do not leave food items and other kinds of stuff unattended. The ones you need to be careful beware of are not petty human criminals. It is the monkeys because they grab foods, especially if you lay the foods on the ground or on any surface where they can quickly grab and snatch.

2. Other valuable items like mobile phones, cameras, and laptops should not be left unattended and unsecured; otherwise, you might end up watching them running away with them.

3. Do not leave your car open. Monkeys are likewise opening car doors and entering inside the cars.

SHAFA TOWN CENTER

Al Shafa is a place sequined with pristine. The heights, sights, mountain formations, and its nature’s gift of ecological abundance become the pride and prize of this plateau municipality.

Entering to the town proper of Shafa

Serene environment without traffic jam on the road

Shafa town center nestled on a plateau terrain. Other than Valley View Point, other parks that family and friends could come to for picnics, bonding, and recreation. Picnic eating is recommended not in Valley View Point; instead, do it in any of these parks:

1. Mays Al-Reem Tourist Park

2. Al Shifa Park

These parks are safer to eat on a picnic setting because of their distance from the Valley View Point, which is the center of monkey