Tucked between misty mountains in the Saudi Arabian Highlands is a vertiginous village built between verdant, 10,000-foot peaks.

A century-old outpost of the local Tihama Asir tribes, its clay and stone buildings have bright shutters and white-trimmed windows. Nobody lives here anymore, but every day, the tribesmen and women — identifiable by their floral crowns and traditional mountain garb — come to sell wares like local honey made by the clans of the ridgelines.

This is Rijal Almaa, one of hundreds of archaeological villages dotting the little-touristed province of Aseer, an area almost the size of Austria in Saudi Arabia’s southwestern corner. The region, which boasts a rich cultural heritage, has dramatically sited mud palaces with mountaintop views, desert plains and unspoiled beaches — plus historical sites and outdoor adventure activities that are unrivaled throughout the country. Best of all for Saudis, who are accustomed to blistering heat in the summer months that regularly tops 45 degrees Celsius, the weather seldom exceeds 32 C, even in the middle of July.