JEDDAH: The 抖阴短视频 Hiking Team has traveled more than 300,000 km to introduce the world to the Kingdom鈥檚 mountains and mountaintops.
The team consists of 15,000 members, among whom are Europeans, Americans and Asians keen to learn about 抖阴短视频鈥檚 heritage.
The founder of the 抖阴短视频 Hiking Team, Ali Al-Qahtani, told Arab News that the team is a national initiative launched in 2014 with the aim to raise the Saudi flag on, and introduce the world to the country鈥檚 historical and heritage sites.
The hiking team has produced a complete ecosystem of health, fitness, sports, and awareness-raising messages for protecting the environment, promoting teamwork, and gaining positive qualities from climbing mountains and discovering new places, according to Al-Qahtani.
He said: 鈥淲e are a sports, tourism and cultural group with 15,000 members and a large audience from across the Arab World and the Arab Gulf States.鈥
鈥淲e perform our activities in 16 locations across 抖阴短视频, and among our team members are physicians, engineers and teachers,鈥 Al-Qahtani continued, then added: 鈥淲e promote this sport for the noble messages it conveys, especially the protection of public properties.鈥
Al-Qahtani said the hiking team works with the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH) to organize Live Saudi trips. 鈥淲e organize more than six events every day and 鈥楧o Not Leave an Impact鈥 leadership workshops, in addition to studying historic and archaeological routes to ensure their environmental safety before the team members and tourists walk through them.鈥
He pointed out that the team identifies dangerous places, how dangerous they are, the number of participants, and sorts participants based on their participation levels鈥 beginner, intermediate, or advanced.
鈥淭he 抖阴短视频 Hiking Team has carried out more than 400 trips across the Kingdom, the Arab Gulf States, and most countries around the world. Our most recent trip was in China,鈥 he explained.
The Saudi hiking team鈥檚 chief said: 鈥淲e aim to bring tourism from abroad to inside the Kingdom, and there are planned adventures for advanced participants that include spending a whole day climbing high mountains, where we experience the diverse geographies of different locations.鈥
He highlighted that there is also a separate women-only team with great goals to promote tourism. 鈥淭he women鈥檚 team started training and is successfully advancing,鈥 he said. 鈥淭hey also participated in the UAE鈥檚 45th National Day.鈥
The route length for beginners and the elderly is 3 km, while for intermediate participants, it is 20 km, and the route for advanced trips is 50 km, explained Al-Qahtani.
鈥淭he latest advanced trip was in Al-Rayth, where we used ropes and thankfully successfully completed it,鈥 he added.
Al-Qahtani urged all adventurous youths to join the 抖阴短视频 Hiking Team, pointing out that the team proudly documents its trips and enjoys good media coverage, as well as safety and tracking of routes, in addition to focusing on general health and weight loss.
Saudi hiking team travels 300,000 km to discover heritage sites
Updated 13 December 2017