AlUla Peregrina

Amid the rugged landscape of AlUla’s sandstone-studded desert, life flourishes in the oasis. Its fresh waters coupled with the valley’s rich earth have made AlUla a centre of agricultural wealth for millennia. Among the region’s captivating terrain, you’ll find the most precious Moringa Peregrina tree.

Moringa Peregrina trees are renowned for the luxury oil which is extracted from their seeds. The natural oil (once called ben or bân oil) is valued for its rare botanical properties that are unlike more common moringa oils. These include its extremely mild scent, light colour and the ability to quickly moisturize the skin, making it ideal for exquisite perfumes and premium cosmetics.

Native to AlUla, Moringa Peregrina trees have prospered in the fertile oasis region for thousands of years. Identified by five-petalled white blooms streaked with dusty pink, the delicate wispy branches of the trees grow beneath the shelter provided by canopies of date palm trees.

The benefits of AlUla Peregrina have been known since ancient times. When the Nabataeans settled in AlUla, they began using the oil in fragrances and cosmetics. They discovered it to be so precious that it was exported from AlUla to be used by other civilisations. Documented uses include the aromatic and rare perfumes that adorned royalty in 4 BCE Theophrastus and lavish Etruscan ointments in 150 BCE Italy. Though the oil has been harvested for thousands of years, those who study its properties are just beginning to understand the potential it holds. Today, 90,000 Moringa Peregrina trees are cultivated in the AlUla oasis.