A woman packing for AlUla in the cooler months is packing for two climates. By day, the canyons of north-west Saudi Arabia are bright and warm, with afternoons in the low thirties in October and the mid-twenties by midwinter. After dark the desert gives its heat back to the sky, and from December a night under the stars can fall below ten degrees. Two things shape what to wear in AlUla as a woman: that daily swing, and the modesty the Kingdom still expects in public.

AlUla is a valley of sandstone outcrops and palm groves just over an hour's flight north of Jeddah, and few places in Arabia hold so many layers of history in so small an area. Hegra, the city of the Nabataeans who also built Petra, became Saudi Arabia's first UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008, and its monumental tombs are carved into isolated rocks across the plain. Nearby are the mud-brick lanes of AlUla Old Town, the inscriptions of Jabal Ikmah, the ancient kingdom of Dadan and Elephant Rock, a natural arch where evenings are spent around low fires. Maraya, the mirror-clad concert hall in Ashar Valley, hosts performances through the winter season.

Since 2019, visiting women have not been required to wear an abaya in Saudi Arabia, and a headscarf is needed only in mosques. Loose clothing that covers the shoulders and the knee is still expected in public places, at the heritage sites and in the Old Town. Linen makes that expectation easy to meet, because a long sleeve and a loose cut in an open, natural weave stay comfortable in the sun. The PP linen blouse in Sky Blue, with its long sleeves and curved hem, is the base of a day at Hegra, worn with a full-length skirt or wide, ankle-length trousers and closed shoes for the sand between the tombs. The details of the blouse itself are set out in the PP linen blouse guide.

Colour deserves a thought here. The sandstone of AlUla shifts through ochre, rust and rose during the day, and soft tones look well against it in photographs and in person. The HER Laos Linen Shirt in Orange picks up the rock at sunset, and the HER Cuba Linen Shirt in Lemon Yellow brings light to the palm groves of the oasis. Both are worn loose and untucked, buttoned to the collar on site and opened a little at lunch.

The Old Town asks for the most care. Its narrow lanes of mud brick and stone were lived in until the late twentieth century, and the restored section now holds cafés, small shops and galleries. The same covered outline works here as at Hegra, with a light scarf in the bag in case a mosque is on the way. Afternoons are often spent in the shade of the oasis or on a hike in the canyons, where the PP linen blouse in Lemon keeps the sun off the arms.

Evenings shift in tone. Dinners at the desert resorts, whose tented and rock-cut villas sit in the canyons around the valley, are relaxed and private, and inside the resort the dress rules are lighter. This is where the Amelia linen dress shirt finds its place: in Oyster, with walnut buttons, for dinner on the villa terrace or by the pool. For Maraya or a dinner at Elephant Rock, the covered outline returns, and a layer becomes necessary. The HER Monte Carlo Gillet over a long-sleeved linen shirt keeps the warmth in as the desert cools, and by January a wrap or a light jacket joins it.

Winter brings the busiest weeks. Festivals across the season, from music at Maraya to hot-air balloons over the valley, fill the calendar between December and February, and early morning starts for balloon flights or sunrise at Hegra are cold. A long-sleeved shirt, a gillet and a scarf are worth more at five in the morning than any number of summer pieces. The general guide, what to wear in AlUla, covers the same valley for men and couples.

AlUla is still new to most travellers, and the women who visit it now see Hegra before the crowds arrive. A small wardrobe of long linen shirts and blouses, one Amelia linen dress shirt for the resort and a warm layer for the night is all that this extraordinary valley asks for.

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