The Wadi Turabah Nature Reserve is a protected area in the Makkah Region of southwestern Saudi Arabia. It is situated about 150 km (93 mi) south-east of Ta'if and 80 km (50 mi) north of al Bahah, sandwiched between the road between Taif and al Bahah and the road running along the escarpment between Banu Sa'ad and al Bahah. It adjoins the Jabal Ibrahim/Wadi Buwwah Protected Area, Jabal Ibrahim being a granite mountain rising about 1,000 m (3,300 ft) above the surrounding rocky hills. Wadi Turabah and Jabal Ibrahim have a total area of around 42,000 hectares (100,000 acres) and the elevation rises from 1,600 m (5,249 ft) to 2,604 m (8,543 ft) at the summit of Jabal Ibrahim.[1]
Habitat
Several streams originate on Jabal Ibrahim so that Wadi Turabah has a permanent flow. Habitats in the reserve include the bare sheets of rock and crags of the mountain, boulder-covered slopes with abundant vegetation, and montane woodland in which the main component is Juniperus. Near the wadis, Ficus and Ziziphus trees grow thickly, and at lower elevations there is Acacia woodland.[1]
Wadi Turabah Nature Reserve is the only place on the Arabian Peninsula in which the hamerkop breeds,[2] with about thirty birds being present in the reserve.[1]