King Fahad Dam (Sadh Malik Fahad) in Bishah is the biggest dam in Saudi Arabia with a capacity of 325 million cubic meters. Around 50 km from Bishah City Center, the dam could be one of the best sites to visit around Bishah. Saudi Arabia is said to have a total of 190 dams as of 1999.
Bishah lies 240 km north of Abhah and 212 km north of Khamis Mushayt.
The reservoir of King Fahad Dam in Bishah. Dams in Saudi Arabia serves to control flash floods, to store water for agriculture and irrigation and sometime to supply drinking water.
Rocky Terrain
Once a very fertile land, Bishah nowadays is getting short of ground water. As you drive through the wadis, you witness the plight of date farms that are partially wilted though there are areas in Bishah that has amazingly large lush growth of date palm plantations.
The terrain of Bishah is rocky, though, broad valleys like Wadi Tarj snakes through the region. A number of mountains like mount al Qunnah, mount Makharim, mount Ad Dhurayyat, mount Ad Dahlah…etc are surrounding the city.
On the Bishah – Khamis Mushayt road, you pass by a number of old settlements, some occupied and some are deserted.
Water in the reservoir has been used for the purpose of farming. Moreover, the dam protects a large area of farm land below the dam that can be destroyed due to heavy pour of water flowing from Asir mountains during rainy season.
Flash floods in Saudi Arabia occur due to lack of trees and very little vegetation to absorb excess rainfall. The heavy downpour moves fast through valleys, at times in destructive manner, and finally dispersed in the sand.
So, dams in Saudi Arabia got rid of such floods and in addition to it, promoted agriculture.
Last, but not the least, a white mountain amidst black rocky hills is a very exciting sight at the vicinity of Bishah.
Drive 5.3km from the Bishah airport entrance on the way to Khamis Mushayt and turn left to an off road. Drive another 9km (a total of 14.3km) to reach the base of the mountain.
