Libya 
In numbers.
Dec–Mar
Best months
45m
Elevation
The water at Ras al Helal, month by month
It roars from December to February.
The fullest months: from December to February. The thinnest: from April to October.
- 98%Jan
- 80%Feb
- 41%Mar
- 15%Apr
- 6%May
- 2%Jun
- 0%Jul
- 0%Aug
- 3%Sep
- 18%Oct
- 34%Nov
- 100%Dec
Best months to go, with plenty of water and pleasant days: from December to March.
Estimate from rain, snowmelt and evaporation month by month (NASA POWER, 1991–2020) around the falls. Dams upstream can change the real flow.
Getting there.
- Al Qubbahnearest town · 15 km in a straight line
- Al Abraq International Airport (LAQ)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 24 km in a straight line
- From December to Marchbest months to go (estimate)
Plan your visit
Stay, explore and get there
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Seen from the sky.
8 × 8 km of cloud-free satellite image, with what OpenStreetMap knows around the falls.
N
2 km
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 8 × 8 km, north up. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.
The line follows the river as mapped in OpenStreetMap; heights from the 30 m Copernicus model, which smooths narrow drops — the published height of the falls is the one above.
Around the falls the river drops 32 m in 0.5 km.
What is around.
- —viewpoints
- —waymarked walking routes
- —car parks
- —swimming spots
- —picnic sites
- —toilets
- —information boards and visitor centres
- —bus stops within 1 km
- 1other named waterfalls within 4 kmشلال وادي الشواعر
- —caves
- 1campsitesمصيف قوس قزح
- 96hotels, B&Bs and huts within 6 kmمنتج رأس الهلال السياحي, منتجع راس الهلال السياحي, راس الهلال and 93 more
- 1restaurants and cafés within 3 km
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, up to 2 km around the falls (unless noted). A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Towns nearby
- Al Qubbah15 km in a straight line
- Al Abraq20 km in a straight line
- Sūsah20 km in a straight line
Weather
The weather, month by month.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon °C | 16 | 16 | 18 | 21 | 24 | 26 | 28 | 29 | 28 | 25 | 22 | 18 |
| Night °C | 13 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 18 | 21 | 24 | 25 | 24 | 21 | 18 | 15 |
| Rain & snow (mm) | 44 | 37 | 20 | 9 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 28 | 32 | 63 |
| Wet days | 8 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 10 |
| Sun h/day | 5.4 | 6.2 | 8.3 | 9.6 | 10.9 | 12.3 | 12.4 | 11.4 | 9.7 | 7.8 | 6.2 | 4.9 |
Long-term averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, with temperatures carried to the height of the falls (45 m) at −6.5 °C per 1,000 m. Not a forecast.
Photos
Through visitors' eyes.
Recent years
Wet years and dry years
Rain of each month as a share of the 1991–2020 average. A wet season above 100 % usually means a fuller waterfall.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 262% | 43% | 634% | 40% | 0% | — | — | — | 2% | 20% | 273% | 298% |
| 2021 | 122% | 56% | 76% | 7% | 0% | — | — | — | 66% | 60% | 98% | 225% |
| 2022 | 350% | 194% | 233% | 7% | 53% | — | — | — | 110% | 84% | 103% | 10% |
| 2023 | 367% | 305% | 26% | 200% | 1,223% | — | — | — | 1,200% | 0% | 21% | 58% |
| 2024 | 158% | 111% | 11% | 0% | 17% | — | — | — | 46% | 21% | 15% | 119% |
| 2025 | 50% | 7% | 42% | 147% | 11% | — | — | — | 0% | 12% | 36% | 103% |
130% wetter than usual 70% drier than usual
Compare with the waterfalls nearby.
Ras al Helal
Libya
- —Height
- —Average flow
- Dec–MarBest months
About these numbers
| Names, height, width, river | Wikidata (Q7294683) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Climate | NASA POWER, 1991–2020 |
| Relief, river profile, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Paths, viewpoints, parking | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
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